Local Water Quality

Aerial Photo of small areas of land surrounded by tree-branch like waterways Hampton Roads Planning District is committed to providing localities with the best resources, information, and technical assistance related to local water quality. Reducing pollution in the form of high levels of nutrients, bacteria, sediment, and chemicals is critical to the health of our local waterways. A waterway in Virginia becomes impaired when monitoring results indicate failure to meet state water quality standards. The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) then facilitates the development of Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for various pollutants. HRPDC’s Water Resources Department coordinates with DEQ, Hampton Roads localities, and stakeholders to develop TMDL Implementation Plans and to conduct TMDL outreach activities.

Map Image of 2016 Impaired Rivers and Estuaries in Hampton Roads

Many TMDLs, TMDL Implementation Plans, and TMDL Action Plans have been completed for waters located within or partially within the Hampton Roads region; others are under development. See the links below for more information:

Final TMDL Implementation Plans for Waters in Hampton Roads (updated July 2018)

Impaired Segment	City/County	Pollutant
Back Bay Watershed	Virginia Beach	Bacteria
Blackwater River	Franklin	Bacteria
Blackwater River (Lower), Maggodee Creek, Gills Creek	Franklin	Bacteria
Chowan River Watershed	Dinwiddie, Lunenburg, Nottoway, Prince Edward, Southampton, Sussex, Isle of Wight, Surry
Chuckatuck and Brewers Creeks (Technical Report and Public Document)	Suffolk, Isle of Wight	Bacteria
Hoffler Creek	Suffolk, Portsmouth	Bacteria
Lynnhaven River, Broad and Linkhorn Bay	Virginia Beach	Bacteria
Mill Creek and Powhatan Creek	James City	Bacteria
North Landing Watershed (including Milldam, Middle West Neck, and Nanney Creeks)	Virginia Beach	Bacteria
Piankatank River, Gwynns Island, Milford Haven	Mathews, Middlesex, Gloucester	Bacteria
Pigg River and Old Womans Creek	Franklin, Henry, Pittsylvania	Bacteria
Smith River and Mayo River Watersheds (Technical Report and Public Document)	Patrick, Henry, Floyd, Franklin	Bacteria
Upper Nansemond River	Suffolk, Isle of Wight	Bacteria
Upper Roanoke River	Bedford, Botetourt, Floyd, Franklin, Craig, Montgomery, and Roanoke Counties, and Roanoke and Salem Cities	Bacteria, Sediment