Living in Lee Hall for three years and walking across Drillfield tons of times, I first heard about Stroubles Creek flowing beneath Drillfield one week ago during my Technical Writing class. Here is a brief introduction of Strouble Creek.
Location
Stroubles Creek is an approximately 12-mile-long stream that runs through Virginia Tech, and Montgomery County, Virginia until it empties into the New River. Most of the sections of Stroubles Creek that flow through Blacksburg and the Virginia Tech campus are piped underground, while the portion that flows through Montgomery County is above-ground.
Facing Challenges
Stroubles Creek has been designated an impaired waterway since 2002. That means, unfortunately, the water quality does not meet the standards. Previous major pollution incidents were from 1970 to 1978, chemical waste from the Virginia Tech chemistry labs was discharged directly into the Duck Pond; And in 1985, kerosene was spilled into the Duck Pond. Currently, one of the threats that Stroubles Creek facing is the rock-salt spilling during the snow events. Rock-salt is also known as sodium chloride (road salt), which is composed of 40% sodium ions (Na+) and 60% chloride ions (Cl-). Chloride (Cl-) is completely soluble and there is no natural process by which chlorides are broken down or removed from the environment. Chloride is toxic to aquatic life and impacts vegetation and wildlife. Unfortunately, the rock-salt melting method is the main way to guarantee transportation safety for people.
Potentional Solution
If you have any feasible ideas of improving Strouble Creek’s water quality, please contact the Energy Management Department. Any contributions will be greatly appreciated!