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Special Characteristics of the Stroubles Creek Watershed

The Stroubles Creek watershed in Blacksburg, Virginia, exhibits a diverse range of physical, chemical, biological, and geomorphic attributes, shaped by both natural and human-induced processes.

Photo credit: Emmanuel Edusei (self)

Stroubles Physical Structure and Scale 
Stroubles Creek is a freshwater second-order stream flowing 15 kilometers (9.2 miles) from the Town of Blacksburg, through Virginia Tech’s campus, and then into the New River. The 14,336-acre Stroubles Creek watershed is a sub-watershed of the New River Watershed (Parece et al., 2010). 

Hydrologic and Hydraulic Processes
Stroubles Creek originates from three springs in the Town of Blacksburg, Virginia. These springs form streams that flow through the Town, the Virginia Tech campus, and merge to form the Virginia Tech Duck Pond. From the town of Blacksburg, Virginia, it streams through the Virginia Tech campus to the New River, the Kanawha River, the Ohio River, the Mississippi River, and then finally, into the Gulf of Mexico. Urbanization has altered Stroubles Creek’s hydrology, resulting in increased stormwater runoff and higher peak flows, especially in the headwaters near Blacksburg and Virginia Tech. Substantial portions of the upper watershed are piped underground. Channelization and stormwater management interventions, including bioretention cells and pervious pavement, have been retrofitted to moderate flow and water quality issues. (Hession, 2017) 

Physical Characteristics 
At present, the Upper Stroubles Creek Watershed is dominated by urban land cover to such an extent that the amount of land cover dedicated to forest and agricultural lands is virtually nonexistent. 
Aerial view of Stroubles - photo source: (Parece et al., 2010)

Biological and Geomorphic Characteristics 
Virginia Tech’s campus and the Town of Blacksburg are experiencing rapid expansion, and these sites are observing a significant influx of non-native, invasive vegetation, including privet, autumn olive, multiflora rose, and tall fescue. There are a few native trees that can naturally grow on the site (New River Conservancy, 2024). Some biological features include:
  • A survey of the Webb and Central Branches of Upper Stroubles Creek found the presence of Silt and gravel substrate, little to no riparian buffers, and a lot of aquatic vegetation (Parece et al., 2010).
  • It has the famous duck ponds at the confluence of several spring-fed branches of Stroubles Creek. The pond also helps slow down run-offs, removing sediments before the water moves downstream (Hession, 2017).
  • Along multiple sides of the Creek, a massive riparian buffer has been built to improve resiliency of the Stroubles Creek stream System.
    • The restoration of the riparian buffer was necessitated by the clear-cutting of the area by non-indigenous settlers early 1990s to create pasture for livestock. This contributed to the Stroubles impairment listing, as determined by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (New River Conservancy, 2024).
Riparian buffer - photo source: (New River Conservancy, 2024). 

Functions and Equilibrium 
  • The Stroubles Creek served as Blacksburg’s drinking water until the early 1990s, when it was declared impaired (Ling, 2017; New River Conservancy, 2024).
  • Its primary function includes conveying water, recharging groundwater, and supporting aquatic and riparian habitats.
  • The beautiful, forested landscape of the lower Stroubles also provides a space for relaxing in nature, recreation, and research needs for students and the Blacksburg community. 
Disturbances
The primary land use in the Stroubles Creek watershed is urban/residential, accounting for 46% of the total area. Forest, pasture, and cropland account for the remaining 28%, 21%, and 5% of the watershed area, respectively. Significant disturbances affecting the watershed include:
  • Extensive streambank erosion due to urbanization in the headwaters.
  • Stream channelization and piping, especially at the Upper Stroubles region.
  • Sediment pollution inputs from historical sewage, agriculture, and urban runoff, especially during game season.






References

Hession, C. (2017). Reducing Sediment in Stroubles Creek. chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/e98dd982-1a08-4f32-9546-b9dcb030214f/content

Ling, E. (2017). SCIP-Infographic2017FINAL | Piktochart Visual Editor. https://create.piktochart.com/output/20516777-scip-infographicfeb2017

New River Conservancy. (2024). Update on the Stroubles Creek, VA Riparian Reforestation Project—New River Conservancy. https://newriverconservancy.org/update-on-the-stroubles-creek-va-riparian-reforestation-project/

Parece, T., DiBetitto, S., Sprague, T., & Younos, T. (2010). The Stroubles Creek Watershed: History of Development and Chronicles of Research (No. VWRRC Special Report No. SR48-2010). chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/8c644f6b-c2cc-427a-9084-85bd1c2213ea/content




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