It gives us the opportunity to educate our community about how food is grown and what healthy food looks like. It also gives us the opportunity to talk about what shouldn't go in the river.
In a 2017 poll, 81 percent of Virginia's voters said it is very important that their elected leaders address pollution in local rivers, streams, and lakes.
Virginia's rivers and the Bay are economic assets supplying jobs in tourism, seafood, and outdoor recreation industries. Fully implementing the Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint would increase the value of Virginia's natural benefits by $8.3 billion annually. What's more, clean water is necessary for human health.
- Enhance the resiliency of our coastal areas to sea level rise-related flooding with effective natural solutions, such as living shorelines, that also serve to reduce polluted runoff.
- Protect sources of drinking water with conservation practices such as forested buffers along streams and near drinking water supplies.
- Ensure safe, clean water for fishing, swimming, paddling, and boating by reducing pollution. Fencing cattle out of streams and stopping runoff from cities will help keep Virginians safe by removing harmful bacteria and other pathogens that can make people sick.
- Educate Virginia's future generations through meaningful watershed experiences for K-12 students.
