Virginia Water Center Intern Abby Spotswood interviewed Dr. Mike Ellerbrock on February 19, 2021 to discuss Environmental Justice issues. Dr. Ellerbrock has been working in this field for over 20 years. He is a professor of agricultural and applied economics at Virginia Tech. Dr. Ellerbrock served as a member on…
From the Appalachian Mountains to the Chesapeake Bay, the watersheds of the Virginias are all unique and understanding your watershed’s history can be key in being a part of its future. By Cassidy Quistorff Cianciolo Everyone lives in a watershed. Simply put, it’s the land that drains to a common…
Nizhoni Tallas has completed her internship with the Virginia Water Center! Her internship project looked at the water issues facing tribal communities in Virginia. A complete write-up of her work can be found here: Water and Virginia Tribal Communities. Her work is also available as a brochure; contact Liz Sharp if you would like…
While access to plumbing and clean tap water is something most people don’t think twice about, it’s a daily struggle for members of many rural communities throughout the state. By Cassidy Quistorff Cianciolo For some people living in rural Appalachia, stopping by the dripping spring coming out of the roadside…
Southwest Virginia is home to the headwaters of the most biologically diverse population of mussels in the world, but human impacts are facing them with new challenges. By Cassidy Cianciolo When thinking of extraordinary places that are home to unique wildlife and curious creatures, Southwest Virginia is not what typically…
May is Home to National Drinking Water Week The then & now of clean drinking water By Cassidy Quistorff The total amount of water on Earth has stayed the same for approximately two billion years. Of the 326 million trillion gallons of water present on Earth, less than 1% is…
Virginia’s largest peatland is being restored with the continuous efforts of researchers and stakeholders. By Cassidy Quistorff “It certainly could be… dismal.” Clay Word, a recent Masters graduate of Virginia Tech, conducted his field work in a unique landscape. “It would usually take me two weeks to get all of…
Water Center faculty Dr. Luke Juran, along with authors from the Wisconsin State Lab of Hygiene and the Virginia Tech Department of Biological Systems Engineering, has published an article in the scientific journal Water. The article is titled “Assessing Strontium and Vulnerability to Strontium in Private Drinking Water Systems in Virginia.” The…
By Cassidy Quistorff No part of Virginia was unaffected by the changing water cycle last year. With a greater proportion of rainfall occurring in extreme precipitation events, water is becoming more unevenly distributed throughout the year. More than 90% of the state reported moderate drought conditions last October. On the other hand,…
Written by Cassidy Quistorff The water cycle is one of the oldest scientific observations. In fact, it can be traced back as far as 2400 years ago in a Hindu devotional depicting the Sun heating up and evaporating water and sending it back to Earth. While this is one step…
