Homeowners implementing water quality improvement projects may be eligible to receive reimbursement for some of those costs. The Virginia Conservation Assistance Program (VCAP) is an urban cost-share program that helps residents pay for stormwater best management practices (BMPs) like rain gardens, infiltration trenches, and even permeable paver driveways. The VCAP Program is administered locally through soil and water conservation districts (SWCDs) in the following Hampton Roads localities:
- Chesapeake (Virginia Dare SWCD)
- Gloucester County (Tidewater SWCD)
- Isle of Wight County (Peanut SWCD)
- James City County (Colonial SWCD)
- Southampton County (Chowan Basin SWCD)
- Suffolk (Peanut SWCD)
- Surry County (Peanut SWCD)
- Virginia Beach (Virginia Dare SWCD)
- Williamsburg (Colonial SWCD)
- York County (Colonial SWCD)
Improve water quality and reduce the impact of heavy rain on your property
BMPs help reduce pollution and the amount of water that reaches our local stormwater systems and ultimately our local waterways. When it rains, the water flowing over impervious surfaces like rooftops, driveways, sidewalks, and roads can pick up all kinds of stuff on its way to the storm drain. That stuff – fertilizer, pesticides, pet waste, vehicle fluids, and litter – is then carried through the stormwater system to our local creeks, rivers, and bays, polluting the places where we fish, boat, and play. BMPs help capture some of those pollutants before they reach the stormwater system. Similarly, if your property has issues with standing water during heavy rain, BMPs can help stormwater better infiltrate the ground. BMPs give the water a place to go, whether it’s helping to hydrate native plants in a rain garden or absorbing into the ground through permeable pavers and infiltration trenches.
• Cisterns & rain barrels: https://vaswcd.org/rainwater-harvesting
• Rain gardens: https://vaswcd.org/rain-garden
• Pervious pavers: https://vaswcd.org/impervious-surface-removal
• Conservation landscaping: https://vaswcd.org/conservation-landscaping
Contact your local soil and water conservation district to learn more.
Blog contributed by Tara Copeland, Stormwater Outreach Coordinator with Virginia Beach Public Works.