Is water itself a fountain of youth? Think about it: the same amount of water has sustained this planet for millions of years. What keeps this resource fit and fresh for use?

Thanks to the marvels of evaporation and precipitation, the skies perpetually return clean water to us. That’s impressive, solar-powered recycling, aka “the water cycle.”

Water falls to the Earth clean, but it can easily become polluted as it travels across land.  US laws limit direct inputs, but plenty of contaminants still wash from land into streams after storms.  This indirect (non-point) pollution threatens creatures large and small, near and far.

Trout, osprey, oysters, dolphins, even whales: what happens on land impacts them all.

In Rockbridge County, contaminants like plastic, manure, fertilizers, and soil wash into local waterways after every rain. These pollutants eventually flow into the Chesapeake Bay.

When it comes to keeping water clean, the best protection is prevention.  Many of us in Rockbridge already protect our streams by protecting our land. We’re planting trees, managing our homeplaces, redesigning urban areas, adopting new farming methods — but there’s always more to do.

Did you know the Bay is the largest nursery for aquatic life in the nation?  It is also one of the most productive bodies of water on Earth. Hence all those “Save the Bay” stickers.

The ocean starts here, goes the saying.  In this headwaters region, that’s a lot of responsibility, but also a lot of opportunity. COREworks projects increase our local ability to keep our precious water clean.