Virginia Ecological Limits of Hydrologic Alteration (ELOHA): Development of Metrics of Hydrologic Alteration

The Commonwealth of Virginia is developing a systems-based approach to integrated watershed management as outlined by the U.S. EPA’s HealthyWatersheds Initiative (HWI). To achieve these goals, the Office of Surface and Ground Water Supply Planning (OSGWSP) at the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is collaborating with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) HealthyWatersheds Program and other federal, state, academic, NGO and consulting partners to develop metrics of flow alteration and associated flow-ecology relationships. This project contributes to development of quantitative in-stream flow criteria for use by DEQ and other agencies.