Moore's Creek Project

Moore's Creek, which drains parts of Albemarle County and the City of Charlottesville and forms much of the southern boundary of Charlottesville (see watershed map), was placed on Virginia's Impaired Waters list in 1998 for levels of fecal coliform bacteria which indicate that the creek is unsafe for swimming and fishing. Since 1999, the TJPDC has been working to get it off the list. Get Acrobat Reader

Moore's Creek Implementation Plan (975 KB) Final draft

Our first project proposal (April 1999) included performance of a bacterial source tracking study to determine where the bacteria were coming from and installation of a gage to monitor stream flows. The full report from that project is available (a large file as it includes a map with graphs of the BST study results), as is a smaller file containing just the bacterial source tracking study report.

• Watershed Street Map (280 K)
• Proposal (86 K)
• Bacterial Source Tracking Study Report (299 K)
• Final Report (1 MB)

The second phase, mandated by federal law, was a TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load). A proposal for a TMDL for Moore's Creek was submitted by TJPDC in June 2000 and funded in April 2001. In the TMDL, a model was used to help determine the broad categories of pollutant reductions that would need to be made in order for the creek to meet health standards. Three public meetings were held as part of the TMDL process; the presentations from those meetings are available to the right. The final TMDL, which called for the removal of all non-permitted human sources and all cattle from the stream, as well as reductions in grassland, residential, and urban loads, was approved by the US EPA in May 2002.

• Proposal (30 K)
• Final Report (607 K)

The next step is to draw up an implementation plan, which will address the specific actions needed to bring fecal coliform bacterial levels in Moore's Creek within safe limits for human contact and identify potential sources of funding. TJPDC's implementation plan proposal has been funded and work is now underway, starting with a public meeting on November 17, 2003.

Presentations from the meeting are available on the right. The technical committee has begun meeting, and a citizens' committee is expected to form in late February, with a second public meeting planned for May. If you would like more information or are interested in participating, please contact at the TJPDC.

• Implementation Proposal (17 K)

Public Comment Period Open for the Moore's Creek TMDL Implementation Plan

The Moore's Creek TMDL Implementation Plan outlines actions to be taken to reduce the levels of fecal coliform bacteria in the creek to meet Virginia water quality standards.The second public meeting for the plan was held Thursday, December 9. The public meeting marked the opening of the 30-day public comment period. Comments may be made to at DEQ until January 9, 2005. A draft of the plan is available here (384 KB)

	The following are PowerPoint Presentations converted to PDF format. They require the Adobe Acrobat Reader.
	Get Acrobat Reader

	Moore's Creek TMDL Background 403 KB

	Implementation Plan: What's Involved? 1.00 MB

	Elements for a Successful Implementation Plan 884 KB

Moore's Creek Implementation Plan