HARRISONBURG, VA (Rocktown Now) — Harrisonburg Public Works is currently accepting comments on the Blacks Run and Cooks Creek Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Action Plan – a document focused on ways to reduce pollutant discharge in two local waterways.

The plan, available online at Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Permit Program | City of Harrisonburg, VA, discusses the maximum amount of pollutants a waterway can carry and the amount of each pollutant that must be reduced in Blacks Run and Cooks Creek to stay within this limit. The public comment period provides an opportunity for community members to review the plan online and connect with City staff members to ask questions and learn more if they wish before providing input. Comments can be provided by April 3, after which staff will consider potential revisions to the plan based on that feedback.

According to a release, Harrisonburg is a part of the Blacks Run Watershed and contributes 2,450,000 pounds of sediment to the watershed every year. Harrisonburg also is part of the Cooks Creek Watershed and contributes 298,000 pounds of sediment to that watershed every year. Additionally, Harrisonburg contributes 4,350 pounds of phosphorus to both watersheds per year.

The action plan aimed at reducing those numbers will be implemented through multiple cycles using an adaptive iterative approaching – making progress to reduce pollutant discharge through efforts like public education, programs such a residential credits and creation of pollinator habitats and services such as street sweeping and stream restoration.

Comments can be submitted in writing to Harrisonburg Sustainability and Environmental Manager Keith Thomas at stormwater@harrisonburgva.gov, by mail to 320 E. Mosby Road, Harrisonburg, VA 22801, or by calling 540-434-5928.