Extension Projects

The Center for Coastal Resources Management provides local governments and communities with technical information and science-based advice to assist with coastal resource management challenges.  The current scientific understanding behind the issues helps decision makers to take action to address locally identified problems.  These collaborations enable the Center to share knowledge gained through applied research to be used to improve ecological, economic, and social conditions at the local level.

List of Unfunded CCRM Projects

Prediction of Future Septic System Failure Sites (Wastewater Islands) October 2018 – September 2019 Secretary of Natural Resources CCRM explored identifying physical features of the landscape that are associated with septic failures to enhance our ability to predict areas where future failures are most likely to occur. Physical features that may potentially influence the probablity of a septic system failing (soils, depth to water table, percent sand, septic absorption, distance to shoreline and elevation) were extracted from GIS layers. Past failed septic systems were identified through the Virginia Department of Health Septic System Permit Database (for Lancaster, Gloucester, Isle of Wight, Accomack and Northampton Counties). The locations of the failed sites were determined using permit and locality parcel data. The failed septic locations and the physical feature layers were entered into a computer modeling program called MaxEnt to produce a relative occurrence rate (ROR) for all possible locations within the study area based on how similar other locations are to the features at a known failure location. The Problem of Failing Septic Systems – Rivers & Coast, Summer 2019 (pdf)

Viginia Stormwater Act, A Tiered Approach for Rural Localities: Generation of Watershed Impervious Maps February 2019 – August 2019 Middle Peninsula PDC An amendment to Virginia's Stormwater Management Act was adopted to implement a tiered approach to stormwater management for rural Tidewater localities. To participate the locality is required to have a map showing the boundaries of the locality, with each watershed located partially or wholly within the locality, and the percentage of impervious cover (areas where water is unable to flow through) within each watershed. Center staff created maps indicating the initial percent of impervious cover present in each watershed for the Middle Peninsula Planning District (MPPDC) localities; Gloucester, Essex, King and Queen, King William, Mathews, Middlesex Counties and the Town of West Point. The watershed maps created illustrate the percent of impervious cover at the start of the tiered stormwater program; the localities are responsible for tracking any additional impervious area going forward. Project Report

Application for No Discharge Zones: The Sarah Creek and Perrin River Experience August 2012 - ongoing Gloucester County The Clean Water Act prohibits dumping untreated sewage anywhere in United States navigable waters which includes territorial seas within three miles of shore. For waters considered especially sensitive to contamination from bacteria and pathogens, states can petition the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for a special designation - one that bans the discharge of any sewage, whether or not it is treated. Waters that receive this designation are called No Discharge Zones (NDZs). In an effort to help protect and potentially improve the water quality in Gloucester waterways, the Go Green Gloucester Advisory Committee and the Gloucester County Board of Supervisors requested technical assistance from CCRM to put together an application for designation of Sarah Creek and Perrin River as No Discharge Zones. Project Report