Shenandoah Valley Surface and Groundwater: Water is Water

The fuzzy distinction between Surface and Groundwater in the Shenandoah Valley

Welcome.

My name is Karen Andersen. I am the Program and Laboratory Director with the Friends of the Shenandoah River, as well as a Board member of our Chapter organization, the Friends of the Middle River.  We thank you all for being here this evening.

We would also like to extend our heartfelt thanks to our hosts, the Virginia Museum of Natural History, the Center for Coldwater Restoration, the South River Watershed Coalition, and the Wayne Theater for providing this space and making it possible to offer programs like the one being presented tonight.

Last year I had the opportunity to attend the Our Karst Landscape and Water Quality Symposium coordinated by the Shenandoah Valley Soil and Water Conservation District.  Despite having dedicated my career to understanding and addressing the various impacts to the water quality in the Rivers and Streams of the Shenandoah River watershed, the presentations at the Symposium expanded my understanding of how the Shenandoah valley’s topography and geology influence the movement, quantity, and quality of both the surface and ground water in our region.

Understanding this interaction between these water systems is essential for everyone living in the Shenandoah River watershed.  Our actions, whether it’s farming, development, or everyday life, have a direct impact on both the surface and groundwater. By recognizing the interconnectedness of these water systems, we can work together to ensure the health and sustainability of the Shenandoah River and its surrounding ecosystems for generations to come.

It is my pleasure to introduce our guest speaker tonight, Wil Orndorff.

Wil Orndorff, a native of the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, grew up looking for caves on the family farm and adjacent abandoned quarry. Introduced to formal caving work at the age of 18, his interest in caves, karst waters, and geology grew into both a career and a life-long passion. With a bachelor’s degree from Johns Hopkins and a masters in geology from Virginia Tech focusing on Appalachian tectonics in hand, Wil entered the professional karst world as a self-employed consultant performing karst analyses of the potential impacts of a proposed high voltage power line corridor on karst springs and bat habitat along its path. Becoming Virginia’s Karst Protection Coordinator became Wil’s career and afforded him the opportunity to do the work he loved, protecting the resources he cared about. The nature of the job turned Wil into a jack of all trades karst who wears many hats: geologist, hydrologist, conservationist, educator, explorer, and, increasingly, biologist. His work has resulted in the establishment of two natural area preserves protecting significant caves, and additions of several tracts containing significant caves to existing preserves. Through the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation’s environmental project review, Wil has helped to avoid or mitigate impacts to hundreds of caves with the help of the Virginia Speleological Survey, with whom he is a director at large in his spare time. Wil is the 2019 Recipient of the Karst Award from Karst Waters Institute. He lives in Blacksburg, Virginia with his wife Zenah.