State of the Indian River

Indian River Road.  Indian River Library.  Indian River High School.   We pass these places most every day, but how often do we think about the actual Indian River?   Although we sometimes overlook it, we have our own corner of the Chesapeake Bay flowing right through the middle of our community.   And we are inescapably tied to this waterway.   The wetlands provide a buffer and sponge during storm driven high tides.   The river provides habitat for the birds we enjoy watching.   The river offers recreation for boaters while the upland forest in Indian River Park has miles of trails for off-road bikers.   The proximity to a tidal waterway enhances property values.   A healthy and accessible river can also bring in businesses and drive beautification efforts.

Yet our proximity also stresses the river.   Centuries of development have left their mark on our river and the whole Chesapeake Bay.   Every time it rains, pollutants are washed through the storm drains and into the Indian River.   The Indian River is part of the neighborhood and it needs our care.

The Community and Watershed

The Indian River is a small tributary of the Eastern Branch of the Elizabeth River, itself a tributary of the James River.   Starting as a series of small creeks draining the relatively flat coastal plan, the Indian River turns into a broad tidal estuary, a mix of fresh and salt water that should be a rich marine ecosystem.  Downstream from the Indian, the Elizabeth flows through Norfolk and Portsmouth and forms one of the busiest working harbors in the world.

Over the past 100 years a mature suburban neighborhood has grown up around the Indian River.   Bounded by City of Virginia Beach on the east, Norfolk and the Southern Railroad line on the west, and I-64 on the south, the City of Chesapeake neighborhood that bears the river’s name encompasses just over 5 square miles and is home to over 24,000 residents.    Three major roads cross the neighborhood from west to east: the Indian River Road which has the only bridge over the tidal river, Providence Road which can be found on maps dating back to the early 1800’s, and Military Highway.    Another 4 square miles of the more recently developed Greenbrier neighborhood south of I-64 also connects into the watershed and adds another 20,000 people to the mix.

State of the River

For the past 20+ years the Elizabeth River has been the focus of intense efforts to cleanup and reverse the ravages of centuries of industrial and urban development.    Thanks to the Clean Water Act and efforts by organizations like the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the Elizabeth River Project, progress has been made  to “remove the goo” of chemicals that coat the river bottom along the shipyards and riverfront factories.

Less stressed by the heavy industry and contamination than the Norfolk and Portsmouth waterfronts, the upper reaches of the Elizabeth River including the Indian River are nonetheless considered “severely degraded”.     Surrounded by thousands of homes and businesses, miles of paved roads and parking lots, the water quality is poor.   As part of the restoration efforts on the Elizabeth, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality maintains several monitoring sites including one on the Eastern Branch of the Elizabeth, just beyond the mouth of the Indian River.   The data results show major areas of concern including:

High Bacteria Levels – the Elizabeth River has been closed to oyster and clam harvesting since the 1920’s due to bacterial contamination.   Although the region has been served by waste water treatment facilities since the 1940’s and is now served by one of the most modern plants in the nation – the Virginia Initiative Plant (VIP) in Norfolk – bacterial contamination is still at unsafe levels.   The culprit today is from “non-point sources”, mostly from fecal contamination from wildlife – such as geese - and household pets – often the family dog.

Excessive Nutrient Levels – nitrogen and phosphorous are two essential elements for the growth of plants.  We put down fertilizer to provide these elements to our crops, and in this watershed – and in the whole Chesapeake Bay watershed in general – the largest single crop by acreage is lawn grass.   When it rains excess fertilizer is washed off the lawn, into the storm drains, and into the Indian River.  The waters of our river and bay are heavily over-fertilized.    This abundance of nutrients causes algae to bloom in the water.  This in turn has two effects: water clarity is reduced blocking sunlight to sub-aquatic vegetation at the base of the food chain and, when the algae die and decompose, oxygen is robbed from the water.   And this brings us to the third issue…

Low Dissolved Oxygen – particularly in the summer, the algae blooms coupled with slow water exchange in our tidal estuary results in the depletion of oxygen levels in the water.   Although fish and crabs may live underwater, they still breathe oxygen that they extract from the water.   When the oxygen levels drop too low the fish, crabs, and clams either flee or die.   These low oxygen zones get the ominous name of “dead zones”.

However, the news is not all gloomy.   A simple canoe trip up the Indian River illustrates that the waterway is still quite alive.   In the fall we paddled to the head of tide past thick stands of native aquatic cordgrass teeming with hundreds of Red-Winged Blackbirds.  We passed dozens of Mallards while Great Blue Herons, Egrets, and Kingfishers patrolled the shores.  A late migrating Osprey soared overhead.    During the winter, the Indian River is home to Bufflehead ducks, Mallards, and Cormorants.

Despite being in the middle of our century old suburb, there are still long stretches of living shoreline along the Indian River lined with aquatic rush grasses backed by mature trees and shrubs.  The upland reaches of the left branch of the Indian River is protected by the linear Indian River Park providing some 70 acres of mature forested buffer crisscrossed by trails.

What can you do to help?

There are a few simple things each of us can do to help improve the environment in our community.   Homeowners can minimize the use of fertilizer on their lawns.   Pet owners can “scoop the poop” and make sure it is properly disposed of with your household trash.    Everyone needs to stay informed.  If you are interested in learning more drop me a note at rogard@yahoo.com or Like us on Facebook.

Winter Ducks along the Indian River

Bufflehead duck - (c) Rogard Ross

With the recent snow and ice melting along the Indian River, I went out for walk in these days leading up to Christmas.  I soon spotted iconic Bufflehead diving ducks all along the river.  These beautiful little ducks seem perfectly designed for a snowy winter day, their black and white markings providing excellent camouflage along snowy banks. Here and there you see them in groups of two or three, or just one alone.  Every few minutes they'll disappear as they dive deep hunting the river bottom for crustaceans and mollusks.

In the days when Captain John Smith explored the waters around Hampton Roads, he found a rich natural world.  The river bottoms were lush with underwater grasses and teeming with creatures that feed these diving ducks.  Four centuries of development have taken their toll - first intensive agriculture and then, in the past century, rapid urban and suburban development.  Sediment runoff and over-fertilization have turned the once deep, crystal clear waters into shallow and muddy channels.  The underwater grasses and oysters have suffered greatly from choking sediment and algae, disease, and over-harvesting.

Yet, life in the rivers hangs on.  Every fall, hundreds of thousands of birds migrate along the Atlantic Flyway from their nesting grounds in the northern US and Canada to points south.  Most will stop in and around the Chesapeake Bay to feed and refuel and tens of thousands of birds will stay to spend the winter. Mallards have proven very adaptable and done well in a suburban world.  On a recent canoe trip on the Indian River, their count quickly topped 100.  The Bufflehead diving duck, while not as common as mallards, are still a frequent sight on the rivers around Hampton Roads.

What can you do to help preserve and improve the environment around us?  One of the greatest problems for our waters today is over-fertilization: too much nitrogen and phosphorous is entering the water causing algae growth that clouds the water and blocks sunlight. The simplest thing most all us can do is reducing the amount of fertilizer used on lawns.  After that, extra steps we can take include: reducing the size of our lawns, replacing grass with native ground cover plants and installing rain gardens to capture rain run-off slowing erosion.  You can also support efforts like those of the Elizabeth River Project and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.  Most of all, get out there and enjoy the rivers.  One pair of nice sites I've discovered close to the Elizabeth is at Great Bridge Lock Park and across the river Bells Mill Park.  Happy Holidays.

Autumn on the Indian River

Cordgrass in the upper Indian River.
- (c) Rogard Ross

Went canoeing on Indian River a few days ago and was pleasantly surprised by the natural diversity of the area. A tributary of the Elizabeth River, this estuary is in the City of Chesapeake just outside of Norfolk. Starting at the Indian River Road Bridge, we paddled south a couple of miles to the upper tidal reach of the waterway. The river is bordered on both sides by a mature suburb first established at the start of the 20th century. The early part of the trip included lots of backyards some bordered by native Black Needle Rush grasses and the occasional stand of phragmites. Gulls, including Herring Gulls, congregated around the piers while Cormorants and several Great Blue Herons patrolled.

Soon we came to the first large stand of Cordgrass near the mouth of a small side stream and then the upper third of the estuary is filled with vibrant Cordgrass, and with it hundreds of Red-winged Blackbirds. As the waterway narrowed into an undulated path through these tall grasses, dozens of Mallards appeared around nearly every curve. We also spied several Kingfishers, more Great Blue Herons, Cardinals, and Chickadees. Overhead we spotted a Red-tailed Hawk and at least one Osprey that hadn't gone south yet. As the river narrowed and the homes closed in, Phragmites again dominated the final stretch and on a large lawn we discovered a flock of Canadian Geese.

Reversing course, we headed home before the sun set, again passing the whole aviary of birds finding sustenance and home along this small jewel of a river.