Shenandoah Riverkeeper asks for funding to test freshwater harmful algal blooms and sustain USGS monitors
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Summary
The Shenandoah Riverkeeper urged lawmakers to fund freshwater harmful‑algal‑bloom testing and provide $500,000 to maintain USGS water‑quality monitoring equipment in the Shenandoah watershed.
Mark Fraun Dorff, Shenandoah Riverkeeper with the Potomac Riverkeeper Network, told lawmakers the governor's budget lacks funding for freshwater harmful algal bloom (HAB) testing and urged the General Assembly to add testing funds comparable to the saltwater HAB program.
Fraun Dorff said VDH has a saltwater HAB testing budget of about $400,000 but no equivalent freshwater testing budget. He recounted a 2021 VDH advisory covering 52.5 miles of the North Fork of the Shenandoah and said no further freshwater HAB alerts were issued in 2022–24 because testing did not occur.
He also asked for $500,000 to support U.S. Geological Survey equipment already installed in the watershed so monitoring can continue. “It seems silly to have the equipment already in place collecting data and not have proper funding to keep the lights on and the system up and running,” he said.
No committee votes were taken; the comments are part of the public hearing record for budget consideration.