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Resident urges action on Hawksbill Creek contamination; board and supervisors acknowledge long-running concerns
Summary
A member of the public told the board Hawksbill Creek has persistently high bacteria counts and urged a two-week return with evidence; supervisors acknowledged water-quality and agricultural runoff concerns and said they would follow up with presentations and next steps.
A resident told the Page County Board of Supervisors that Hawksbill Creek has long-standing bacterial contamination, urged the board to act and asked to return in two weeks with a slide presentation and data. The speaker (Speaker 9) said they had DEQ testing and expressed alarm that children use the greenway and could be exposed to pathogens, and asked the county and town to consider signage, warnings or zoning remedies under Virginia's right-to-farm law.
"This is a big problem," Speaker 9 said, describing testing results and saying "less than 1 percent in the Hawksbill is human," and that agricultural sources (cattle) appeared to be the primary contributor according to the data the commenter cited. The speaker offered to present findings to the board and the Greenway Foundation and to work with town officials on next steps.
Supervisors responded that water quality is an issue the county needs to take seriously and framed it as both a public-safety and tourism concern. Speaker 4 said fencing and poultry-litter runoff are potential contributors and called for an aggressive approach; Speaker 3 and others thanked the commenter and said they looked forward to a presentation.
What happens next: the commenter requested permission to return in two weeks with a presentation; supervisors endorsed follow-up and asked staff to coordinate next steps. No emergency closure or formal regulatory action was taken during the meeting; the board discussed next steps and public-notice-level follow-up.
Quotes from the record: "We have to do something. We can't go on like that," Speaker 9 said about the creek. "I do believe that our water quality is an issue that we need to address in the county," Speaker 4 said during supervisors' time.
Context: The comment references a DEQ report and notes the potential for modern DNA-source testing; the speaker identified livestock as a likely major source. The board acknowledged the concern and requested further information and staff follow-up rather than immediate enforcement action.
