This story was reported and written by VPM News.
The James River is the healthiest Chesapeake Bay tributary, according to a new report card from the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science.
The UMCES report card grades the Bay’s health on a range of metrics — everything from wildlife populations to economic disparities — all across the watershed. It covers the Bay, the rivers draining into it and the land that drains into those rivers.
The report draws on data and expertise from dozens of organizations: universities, government departments and nonprofits, among others.
Although the James ranks as the healthiest river draining into the Bay, the river scored slightly lower than it did last year. Data showed that benthic invertebrates — bottom-dwelling critters like mussels, worms and clams — struggled, and the water became less clear overall.
“That is really a barrier to achieving some broader ecosystem benefits,” according to Jamie Brunkow, director of river ecology at the nonprofit James River Association.
Brunkow said those aspects of Bay health have knock-on effects for plant and animal life in the James. Vegetation on the river floor depends on sunlight, which can be blocked by high levels of sediment. Deep-swimming predators also struggle to find their prey in dark waters.
The bottom-dwelling benthic community is important because it feeds river life; freshwater mollusks are known to filter pollutants like nitrogen from gallons of water every day.
Despite the setbacks, Brunkow said the James has improved over time — and in the future, policymakers and the public should focus on what works.
“We want to get bacteria out of the water, we want to stop combined sewer overflows,” Brunkow said. “We also want to do things that are going to directly enhance habitat.”
Brunkow also noted that the new report gave a particularly high rating to the upper James, where the river originates in a heavily forested region of Botetourt County.
“It looks really good, because we have so much forest,” Brunkow said. “That is really a main driver for water quality, is having those healthy buffers.”
JRA issues its own report card for the James every other year. Last year, it reported that river health improved over the previous two years, but more slowly than in the past.
A 2025 Chesapeake Bay cleanup target — agreed to in 2014 by Washington, D.C., and the Bay’s six watershed states — is considered to be out of reach at this point, though leaders are working on a plan to catch up with their aspirations.
Virginia’s budget currently sets aside hundreds of millions of dollars to fund Bay and river cleanup projects, including $231 million for the Agricultural Cost Share program to install pollution controls and $50 million for the city of Richmond’s long-term combined sewer rehab project.
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