The James River has its head waters in the Allegheny Mountains and flows generally southeasterly to Hampton Roads, Chesapeake Bay and thence to the Atlantic Ocean. Below Richmond, Virginia, the river is tidal with the channel meandering through the coastal plains. Below Hopewell it widens to a broad estuary, with a deep navigable channel bordered by tide marshes. The upper estuary, between Richmond and Hopewell, is heavily used for water supply, recreation, and industrial development.
The water entering the estuary a few miles upstream of Richmond is of good quality. However, as one reaches Richmond, the quality of the water deteriorates. There are eleven major discharging municipalities and industries within a stretch of twenty two river miles between Richmond and Hopewell. The major factors contributing to water quality problems below the City of Richmond stem from the intermittent discharge from combined sewer overflows (CSOs) coupled with the continuous discharge from the City's sewage treatment plant. The CSOs contribute a large quantity of soluble BOD, suspended solids, settleable solids, and fecal coliforms to the estuary. The City's sewage treatment plant continuously discharges large quantities of ammonia-nitrogen and phosphorus, in addition to BOD and suspended solids.
Rational Management and use of the waters of the upper James estuary appear to be critical. The objectives of this paper, therefore, are the discussion of the present water quality and the wastewater discharge reductions required in order to meet certain water quality and water use objectives.
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