The 2024 Virginia General Assembly requested a study to assess harmful algal blooms (HABs) in Smith Mountain Lake (SML), a reservoir created by damming the Roanoke River. Harmful algal blooms have algae and cyanobacteria that produce toxins that may adversely affect human health through consumption of contaminated water or shellfish….
A new M.S. degree program in Water Resources at Virginia Tech has been officially approved! Proposed by Drs. Stephen Schoenholtz and Kevin McGuire of the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, the program was approved on March 17 and is slated to begin in Fall 2026. The degree is designed to provide advanced…
March 30, 2026 Update — You may be wondering what’s the latest about the sewage spill in the Potomac River. More information is available on the websites for the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) and Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). The summary information provided below was obtained from these…
On March 26, 2026, Dr. Kevin McGuire, Director of the Virginia Water Resources Research Center at Virginia Tech, testified before the House Natural Resources Committee on the authorization of the Water Resources Research Act (WRRA) program. The Advancing Water Research and Collaboration (AWRC) Act (H.R. 7889)—sponsored by Congressman Rob Wittman (VA‑01) and Congresswoman Julia Brownley (CA‑26)—would strengthen the…
In late February, Tali Altimari and Max Painchaud took their Water Center internship to Washington, D.C.! Joined by Water Center Director Kevin McGuire and Associate Director Daniel McLaughlin, they participated in the annual National Institutes for Water Resources (NIWR) Meeting and a series of congressional visits. During the trip, they met with staff from Morgan Griffith, Jen Kiggans, Mark Warner, and Rob Wittman’s offices. Tali and Max participated in a student panel about engaging students…
U.S. Reps. Rob Wittman (VA-01) and Julia Brownley (CA-26) and U.S. Senators John Boozman (R-AR) and Mark Kelly (D-AZ) have introduced bipartisan legislation aimed at boosting water research and collaboration across the country! The Advancing Water Research and Collaboration (AWRC) Act would strength the U.S. Geological Survey partnership with state…
You may have heard about or been impacted by recent spills in the Potomac and James rivers. More information about these spills and the response to the spills is available on the websites for the Virginia Department of Health (VDH; Potomac: https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/) and Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ; Potomac…
Welcome to Tali Altimari, our new undergraduate water intern! Tali is a senior studying Environmental Economics: Management and Policy with a minor in Strategic Communications. Her interests focus on environmental policy, specifically on how government and environmental systems interact, and on making complex sustainability issues accessible to everyone. In the…
The Virginia Water Resources Research Center would like to welcome Max Painchaud as a new undergraduate water intern! Max is a sophomore getting a dual degree in public health and technical and scientific communication. Her interests focus on the environmental impacts after natural disasters and bettering science communication through accessible,…
Jesse Gutierrez, the current Schoenholtz Water Undergraduate Research Fellow, has kicked off his fellowship project at McDonald Hollow, just a short distance from Virginia Tech’s campus. A student in the water: resources, policy, and management program, Jesse is co-mentored by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center and Associate Professor J.P….
