The New River watershed is about 6,952 square miles, with 3,068 square miles in Virginia. Its watershed comprises about 7.3 percent of the area of the Commonwealth, and its 2000 population was estimated at 355,166 people, about 10 percent of which is local university students.
The headwaters of the New River are in the North Carolina counties of Wautauga, Ashe and Alleghany. In West Virginia, the New River joins the Gauley River to form the Kanawha River, a tributary to the Ohio River. The New River is 250 miles long, with 160 miles in Virginia. Much of the terrain is mountainous and is underlain by Karst topography. Land use is predominantly rural. About 58 percent of the watershed is forested, 37 percent is agricultural, and 5 percent is urban.
The character of the region is defined by the New River, which was recently designated an American Heritage River. This most ancient of American rivers is unique from a number of perspectives, including geologically and biologically. As a recreational resource, the river is invaluable, providing a wide range of outdoor experiences and miles of scenic beauty and natural areas. The 52-mile New River Trail State Park is one of the region’s greenway and blueway success stories. Claytor Lake is a 4,500-acre hydroelectric facility on the New River that provides recreational opportunities for residents and increasing numbers of tourists each season.
Historically, the New River has remained one of the cleanest watersheds in Virginia. Virginia DEQ monitoring data indicate that the water quality of the New River is still rated as good, and thus, many its tributaries still support trout fishing. However, the watershed is experiencing influences from increasing urbanization and tourism, and new public utilities.
Monitoring data indicate that phosphorus and nitrogen levels in the New River are generally rated as good to excellent. Nitrogen levels are fair to good. A small number of subwatersheds have a significant percentage of samples rated as poor, primarily those traditionally used for straight-piping or industrial discharge. Eighty-five stream miles in the watershed are listed as impaired in the 1998 303(d) Priority List. Of these waters, 79 miles (92 percent ) have impairments due to nonpoint and unknown sources. Most of the nitrogen is from nonpoint sources.
Contact information:
DCR New River Watershed Office
P.O. Box 1506
Dublin, VA 24084
Phone: (540) 643-2590
Fax: (540) 643-2597
The New River watershed also is serviced by two planning districts: the Mount Rogers and the New River Valley PDCs; four soil and water conservation districts: Skyline, Big Walker, New and Tazewell; and the New River-Highlands Resource Conservation and Development Council.
Learn from others in your community.
Additional resources:
www.focl.org
www.epa.gov for Surf Your Watershed
www.newriverhighlandsrcd.org
www.dcr.state.va.us
www.westernvirginialandtrust.org
www.newriverlandtrust.org
www.nrcp.org
www.nrvpdc@nrvdc.org
www.ncnr.org
www.canaanvi.org
www.runet.edu/~engl-web/river/conservation/htm
