Northumberland Association for Progressive Stewardship

Northumberland is going to grow. Let’s help it grow with order and beauty.

NAPS News

Winter, 2001 Volume 10, Issue 1

The President's Letter

Happy New Millennium!

Our Annual Meeting will be a week earlier than last year's so we can avoid the snow. Please mark your calendar for February 3. The meeting will be held at St. Stephens Parish House starting at 10:00 AM.

We have some important items on our agenda. We have made major revisions to the bylaws. The membership needs to approve them. The changes are to make the Bylaws agree with what we do rather than to change our normal operation.

Our speaker will discuss the future water needs of our county. They are well worth thinking about. What would your home be worth if you could not find water when your well runs dry?

And we will have one director to elect. Our nominating committee, headed by Mary Kier, is hard at work looking for a new director. Please contact her if you are interested in serving (529 6071).

This past year as usual we attended most of the Supervisor and Planning Commission meetings. The most controversial item concerned installation of a fishing pier across from Glebe Point and some improvements to some of the existing public boat ramps. We received some comments from our members who live near these locations.

The other item that drew a lot of attention was a request by landowners to renew a permit to apply sludge to their land. Our Board of Directors thought you should know about this and called most of our resident members. Many of you attended the meeting and showed your concern. The supervisors put off their decision, and then the landowners withdrew their request.

NAPS was invited to the two wonderful public events at St. Stevens Episcopal Church in Heathsville. Thanks to those who helped staff our booth. This is a good chance to tell our story.

We are looking for someone (or several people) to take over the job of leadership for the river/creek cleanup. After seven years, Mike Harwood has tendered his resignation from this important job. He will assist the new volunteers who take on this task. Yes, it is a big job but one can count on plenty of assistance.

I hope we have a good turnout for our annual meeting. Please come.

Randolph H. Neal

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Successful Chesapeake Breeze Journey

September 23, 2000 was the date for a fine journey on the Great Wicomico River. Well, the weather was not so great! It started out cloudy and not promising. However, when the Distinguished Citizen Award was being presented to completely surprised Ralph and Isabel Rose the heavens began to spread their wealth of rain. After adjournment to an enclosed deck the approximately 100 guests enjoyed the boat ride up the Mill Creek. The meal from Willabys was delicious and there was an abundance to eat. Since some people apparently did not trust the weather sufficiently to actually show up for the boat trip, this added to the food excess. All‑in‑all, it was a boat trip that was apparently enjoyed by all attendees and may be long remembered.

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Great Backyard Bird Count

February 16 ‑ 19, 2001

It is well known that many bird species are showing population declines due to habitat loss or other human impacts. Begun in 1998, the GBBC has engaged more than 100,000 people of all ages and skill levels in the effort to keep common birds common. "We're asking everyone, everywhere in North America to take a few minutes to tell us what birds they see on any or all of the count days," says John Fitzpatrick, director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. "By tracking changes in bird distribution and abundance over time, such a vast database can serve as the SOS signal for species that may be in trouble."

Audubon and the Cornell Lab, sponsors of GBBC, are asking participants to pay special attention to quail, several species of woodpecker, including the Redheaded Woodpecker and the Northern Flicker, which are also showing signs of serious population decreases.

Because the GBBC charts findings in real time, scientists have already made connections between weather patterns and bird movements. For the last few years, American Robins appeared farther North than typically expected in areas where snow cover was scant or nonexistent. Such a correlation may be suggestive of global warming or other broad‑scale weather changes. This year's GBBC will again collect information about snow depth.

To participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count, count the highest number of each bird species seen at one time (to ensure the birds are not counted more than once) and keep track of the amount of time spent counting. Keep a separate tally for each day that you count. Log on to Birdsource at www.birdsource.org and click on the appropriate state or province for a checklist of the most frequently reported birds in that region. The GBBC web site also includes bird‑watching and bird‑feeding tips, bird vocalizations, and, information about House Finch eye disease.

There is no fee or registration. Instructions for participating can be found at by clicking on "Great Backyard Bird Count." If you do not have a computer or web access and have Further questions, contact Audrey Brainard at 580 5519.

Adapted from Northern Neck Audubon News

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Light Pollution

In the issue of the Newsletter one year ago was the first article on light pollution. At last year's Annual Meeting we had a speaker on the subject of light pollution. Bob Gent, Public Relations Officer of International Dark‑Sky Association, gave a talk on light pollution and some easy solutions to lighting problems. Since the purpose of lighting is generally to illuminate the immediate area, a simple reflector shade directs more light to the area to be illuminated and can be designed to eliminate all light going directly upward and minimizing light going horizontally. It is a win‑win situation for the owner (and payer) of the light. More light or less electrical power results and consequently cuts down on the cost and/or improves efficiency.

Light pollution for star gazing, by serious problem. You may have noticed some of the problems of light pollution while driving your car or your boat. Businesses use bright (and brighter) lights to attract your attention. Security lighting is another source of light pollution. Dock lights are often very bright and destroy the night vision of boat captains. Similarly, the vision of auto drivers is impaired by overly bright lights. Headlights are a necessity for night driving. Even in the "dim" position, we notice that an overloaded vehicle or a vehicle on a curve or hilltop can produce at least momentarily very bright lights.

Discussions with the power companies since then have revealed that there has been no consideration given to light pollution, although they talk in favor of helping. In fact, The Northern Neck Electric Coop has very recently sent out to their customers an advertisement for installation of new security lights. There seems to be no mention of light pollution and control. Yet the cost of an appropriate reflector shade would aid light pollution at minimal initial cost and would probably save money for long-term use. Remember, security lighting is not meant to attract attention, but simply to illuminate the immediate area.

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Education Committee

By Don Pumroy

Hey!! Did you see our display in the library during December? The theme was areas of concern that we had about the county. Some of the concerns we covered were: our coming water problems, litter on the highway, light pollution, education of our citizens about protecting our environment. Susan Stubbs, Lynton Land and I put it up the end of November. We plan to focus on those concerns during the coming months. We would appreciate any reaction you may have had to our display. I am at Box 369, Heathsville, VA 22743 or at 580 2186.

The NAPS Scholarships are underway for the spring. We will award four Scholarships to talented students from the Northumberland High School who are planning on attending an institution of higher learning in the fall. This year NAPS decided the Scholarships will be worth $500 each, which is an increase over last year. We will be looking for students who are interested in protecting our environment and improving the quality of life in our county as well as students who do well in their studies and take part in activities. Each student who applies for a Scholarship will be given a copy of Dr. Roger McIntire’s book titled "College Keys: Getting In, Doing" compliments of NAPS. Krista Hundley is the Counselor at the school and Mary Ellen Thomas is the receptionist; they are always most helpful to us. If you know students who are interested in the environment and who plan to attend college in the fall have them go to the Guidance Counselor Office and ask for an application.

Thanks again to Susan Stubbs and Lynton Land for their help on the committee. And lastly, Happy New Year to all.

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Editorial

A new year and the Annual Meeting is coming up soon. Note the date of February 3. Also the place is different from normal, St. Stephans Parish House. It would be good to have a large crowd for the discussion on water. Also the approval of the new Bylaws is important.

The fourth annual Great Backyard Bird Count is also in February. It takes no great ability on the part of those who will participate. If you have a bird feeder in your backyard and can recognize the birds, then you can take part and count those birds. In the long run it helps them by knowing what is happening to their numbers.

Please become knowledgeable on light pollution. It is and insidious pollution that can most easily be aided in early stages.

Read carefully the article on deep groundwater below. Though not an immediate concern, water supplies here, as elsewhere, are a certain long term problem. Again it is better to be prepared!

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Deep Groundwater in

Northumberland County

By Lynton Land

The domestic water we all use in Northumberland County was once rain. Rain falls on the land surface and percolates downward through the soil to the water table. About half the water is utilized by plants (transpired), and most of the rest flows laterally toward lower elevations where it discharges into the nearest waterway. Small amounts of rain penetrate more deeply and flow seaward through sediments (aquifers) deep beneath the land surface, away from higher elevations east of the "Fall Line". The deep aquifers beneath Northumberland County are at depths of about 200 to 900 feet. Water quality is good to excellent as long as the well casing is intact. About 75% of the County inhabitants derive their water from either private or public drilled wells.

The problem with this water supply is that it is finite. The downward percolation of water and eastward flow at depths of hundreds of feet is a slow process, and thus the water we pump today is many thousands of years old. Although abundant rain still falls in the recharge area today, we are pumping the water out of the deep aquifers faster than Nature can replenish it.

Many wells in the Northern Neck once discharged water at the land surface, based on local remembrances, and that is why some people use the term "artesian" to characterize deep wells. Prior to extensive drilling in the last century, the deep aquifers were "full to the brim", with the "brim" being the elevation of the land surface east of Fredericksburg. Because the top of our wells is at lower elevations than the "brim", water could flow out of our wells under pressure, making them truly artesian. Artesian flow in our County seems to have stopped about the middle of the last century, soon after deep drilling became commonplace. Measurements from a well at Montross document a water level decline of 37 feet in 32 years. Last year the depth to water in that well was 170 feet. Thus we can be certain that the water level beneath Montross has fallen 170 feet since about the middle of last century. At Montross, the top of the deep aquifer is at about 400 feet. These observations permit crude estimates of how much water remains before we begin to irreparably damage the aquifer by de‑watering it.

Lowering of water levels in deep wells is a regional phenomenon. Thus we can be quite sure that water levels are declining at least 1.5 foot each year beneath Northumberland County, despite that fact that we have no systematic measurements within the County itself (We need them!). Because of the regional nature of deep aquifers, large withdrawals of water in surrounding counties can affect local water levels. It is common sense that the largest users (industry and large municipalities) are the cause of most of the regional water level decline.

Declining water levels in deep wells is not the only concern. Recharge of the deep aquifers by rain takes place slowly as water percolates vertically downward and flows eastward. But saline water also intrudes from the east, and from strata below our deepest aquifers, as water levels fall. Increased salt content in wells because of "saline intrusion" can already be documented in wells near the coastline, at Virginia Beach, for example. Some babies born today will likely live to see most of our deep groundwater reserves either depleted or become saline if we continue to pump at present rates.

How should we address this problem? Aside from planning for alternative water supplies, the only action we can all take is to conserve as much water as possible, with emphasis on the largest consumers. Deep groundwater should never be used just for cooling, and then discarded. It is inevitable that the Northern Neck will become part of a "Water Management District" sometime in the future as problems with deep wells become more common. We must also be careful about encouraging the kinds of growth in the County that would place large demands on our remaining deep groundwater.