At the January 29th New River Watershed Roundtable Cathy Hanks, president of Friends of Peak Creek (FOPC), George Santucci, Executive Director of The New River Conservancy, and Dr. Leigh-Anne Krometis a professor within the Virginia Tech Department of Biological Systems Engineering (VT BSE) presented about the Doodle Dust Dilemma. Doodle dust is the nickname for the dust and slag byproduct produced at the now closed acid plant along Peak Creek between 1904 and 1968.
Identified as a Superfund Site in the nineties, the site was capped. Today, erosion below the cap is releasing doodle dust into Peak Creek, particularly during high water events. Friends of Peak Creek, Friends of Claytor Lake, Virginia Tech’s Bio-Systems Engineering Department, Town of Pulaski, Pulaski County, Silver Jackets and New River Conservancy are working together to highlight and resolve the issue. Over the summer of 2019, a USDA research grant in partnership with VT BSE funded undergraduate students to thoroughly explore the Doodle Dust Dilemma. Learn more about their discoveries here.
For more information on the Doodle Dust Dilemma you can reach out to Cathy Hanks, FOPC at chanks20@aol.com. Watershed Roundtable meetings are held quarterly on the last Wednesday of the month. All are welcome. Our next meeting will be April 29th in the New River Room at the NRV Business Center. For more information or to receive meeting reminders contact Nicole Hersch, at nicole@nrvrc.org.