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Last updated: July 21, 2008
News
Corps begins Chowan River Basin study
September 17, 2008
By Mark Haviland
Norfolk District Public Affairs
NORFOLK, Va. – Scientists and engineers from the Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, will begin a project study this month designed to address the water resource challenges impacting the thousands of people who reside in Virginia's Chowan River Basin.
The $90,000 project will allow the Corps to "develop the components of an effective early warning program through an integrated system of rainfall, stream, and water quality gages," said Mark Mansfield, the Norfolk District's chief planning and policy.
The cities of Franklin and Emporia, and the counties of Southampton, Greensville, Sussex, Surry and Isle of Wight provided $45,000 for the effort. Federal funding paid for the balance of the project.
"This is a significant first step in protecting the great citizens of these cities, counties and towns, said Col. Dionysios Anninos, Norfolk District commander.
The effort initiated this month is only a "first look" at the basin, said Anninos and Mansfield, and the district is ready to undertake a comprehensive study of the basin.
"This current initiative only provides early warning and data," said Anninos. "Much more work is required to identify the 'root cause' and develop a series of solutions to mitigate the risk of future flooding."
The U.S. House of Representatives authorized a comprehensive study in 2007 at the urging of Congressman J. Randy Forbes. Forbes and Senator Jim Webb maintain an active interest in and are supportive of the Chowan River Basin efforts, Anninos said.
The Chowan River Basin, which includes the Blackwater, Meherrin and Nottoway rivers and is home to more than 200,000 residents, often suffers from unpredictable and devastating flooding. In September 1999, the National Weather Service at Wakefield, Va., reported that the Blackwater River, swollen by Hurricane Floyd's torrential rainfall, left a large portion of Franklin under 12 feet of water. Franklin and other areas in the basin have suffered record-level flooding five times since 1999.
The proposed comprehensive evaluation and risk assessment will address flood risk management, erosion, navigation and environmental needs within the watershed, explained Mansfield.