Water quality on tap for Lynchburg College lecture series

Lynchburg College hopes to provide a better understanding of water quality issues both locally and across the state through a three-part lecture series starting tonight.

Jason Hill with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality will speak on the “nuts and bolts” of stream sampling and water quality across the state, said Dave Perault, associate professor of environmental science at LC.

The lecture begins at 7 p.m. in LC’s Sydnor Performance Hall in Elliot & Rosel Schewel Hall.

“People are always interested in — what is the quality of the creek that flows from their backyard that ultimately we might use for drinking water,” Perault said. “What are the biggest threats to those stream ways?”

Hill will speak on his specialty of probabilistic monitoring, or the sampling of randomly selected sites on rivers and streams throughout Virginia.

The random selection of sites is meant “to provide accurate statewide and regional assessments of the chemical, physical, and biological conditions of Virginia’s freshwater resources,” according to the DEQ Web site.

The lectures also will touch on local issues, Perault said, “so people can get a full appreciation of statewide, what’s occurring, and then what’s happening in their backyards. Hopefully they will gain a better appreciation of the challenges in identifying impacts on those streams, measuring those impacts.”

Also as part of the series, Ann Regn, director of the DEQ’s Office of Environmental Education, will speak Feb. 19 on the challenges of educating the public about water quality.

On March 19, Judy Strang with Friends of the Pedlar River will “bring things closer to home” and speak on the state of local waterways and related issues, Perault said.

The series continues LC’s efforts to emphasize environmental issues for students. Last year, the school hosted numerous such events in conjunction with its “Year of the Environment.”

Perault said the issues are relevant to a recent focus in the environmental community on water quantity.

“We don’t want to forget about the quality while we struggle with the quantity,” he said.

All events are free and open to the public.