RICHMOND — The James River Association released its biennial State of the James report Thursday, giving the overall health of the river a grade of B with a score of 68%.
That is a significant improvement compared to the river’s failing health fifty years ago, according to JRA.
“The James River is a great comeback story going from one of the most polluted rivers in the nation to one of the most improved,” said Bill Street, President and CEO for JRA. “In order to make additional progress and achieve a fully healthy James River, we all must do our part to safeguard the river for future generations.”
JRA said upstream indicators like stream health, smallmouth bass, and riparian buffers have high scores and saw increases over the past two years, reflecting the good watershed health of the Upper James as well as restoration efforts across the watershed.
Virginia’s investments in clean water programs — wastewater treatment, agricultural practices and stormwater management — are making a real difference, it added.
However, JRA said underwater grasses, oysters and tidal water quality declined in the last two years. Despite progress in river restoration, the tidal James still faces heavy stress from pollution sources, including wastewater, erosion, agricultural runoff, and stormwater runoff. To restore these waters, JRA said pollution must be reduced at its source and critical habitats need to be rebuilt so the tidal James and the river as a whole can thrive.
American shad remain at zero and striped bass numbers also declined substantially since JRA’s 2023 report, it said. To bring back these and other migratory fish, the association said Virginia needs to act quickly to deal with problems like invasive catfish, pollution, blocked waterways, water intakes and degraded habitats.
Population growth, land development and climate change are making additional progress more difficult, JRA added.
“The more we invest, the better the river gets,” said Jamie Brunkow, Director of Advocacy and River Ecology for the James River Association. “The State of the James demonstrates a clear connection between funding by Virginia in clean water programs and the health of the James River. The recent historic level of investments in wastewater and agricultural pollution controls are already paying dividends for the millions of Virginians who rely on the James River.”
JRA said its State of the James is a report card for the river, summarizing ongoing efforts to bring the James back to full health. Issued every two years, it examines the status and trends of 18 indicators that fall within two categories — River Health and River Restoration. To learn more about the State of the James, visit stateofthejames.org.
