Save Our Streams Spring 2026 Results

The results of SMLA Save our Streams monitoring for 21 streams in the Smith Mountain Lake show that 14 of the 21 streams received acceptable ratings for water quality. The ratings are based on the populations of macroinvertebrates identified and counted between the beginning of March and the end of May.

Gray Zone
SML-2 of 21 streams=9.5%
Statewide Average =11%

Unacceptable
SML-5 of 21 streams=23.9%
Statewide Average=33%

Acceptable
SML-14 of 21 streams=66.6%
Statewide Average=56%

Considering the ongoing drought conditions, which have persisted since last summer, we might well have expected lower ratings. The macroinvertebrate health we survey is dependent on adequate water flow.

To place the results into perspective, monitored streams in Virginia have achieved a pass rate of around 55% the last several years. The mark for SML streams of 67% again exceeds the state average. However, these numbers do lag the all-time best performance of 80% achieved last spring. Ratings are not likely to remain at a high level for the second half of the year if drought conditions persist.

In recent weeks we have redoubled our efforts to determine why the streams in our watershed test out higher on water quality standards than those elsewhere in the
Commonwealth. Factors such as adjacent land use like farming, livestock raising, homes and gardens, industrial, and housing construction have all been tracked for the past two decades. We are now trying to link these usages with water quality outcomes, such as whether landowners creating and maintaining a foliage buffer at the stream borders to filter off chemicals and fertilizers can improve water quality.

SMLA certified monitors will present evidence gathered in our efforts at the state Water Monitoring Conference in Hanover, Virginia on September 29. We plan to use the feedback received at that conference to direct our plans and recommended practices going forward.

The Save Our Streams program is currently looking for additional volunteers to join monitoring teams dedicated to streams in Bedford County from the SML State Park area through Goodview and in Franklin County at Ferrum and Waid Park, along Gills Creek, near the main channel of the Roanoke River in the Westlake and Hardy Road areas, and at tributaries to the Blackwater River near Glade Hill and Union Hall.

An orientation is planned for Saturday, August 1, at the Booker T. Washington National Monument for prospective volunteers and area residents interested in
learning more about the program. It will be a hands-on experience as we survey the aquatic life in Gills and Jack O’Lantern Creeks. For more information and to reserve a place, contact sos@smlassociation.org.