BELDEN WIRE & CABLE COMPANY

Recent water pollution threatens health of nearby mammals

Two permitted dischargers on the East Fork Whitewater River are both in significant non-compliance with their Clean Water Act permits — and the wildlife drinking from that water downstream has no way of knowing it. RICHMOND WWTP, CITY OF and BELDEN WIRE & CABLE COMPANY have no penalties assessed yet. Meanwhile, iNaturalist observations from the downstream watershed over the past year show a steady parade of native mammals that routinely drink from or forage along riverbanks. White-tailed Deer, Common Raccoon, Virginia Opossum, Groundhog, Eastern Cottontail, and Striped Skunk have all been recorded within the corridor in recent months — the most recent as recently as July 19. Also observed in February: an Eastern Red Bat, a threatened species that drinks on the wing, skimming the water's surface during low passes over the river. Late July into August is peak thermal stress season for warm-water streams. Flow drops, temperatures climb, and whatever enters the river from those two discharge points becomes more concentrated. The mammals observed here don't stop drinking because a permit is out of compliance. That's the gap this data can't close on its own.