• Why did the Town modify Foxridge and Greenway stormwater ponds?
• Monarch butterflies and other pollinators
• Natural mosquito control: purple martins and bats

Why did the Town modify Foxridge, Greenway Farm, and Stratford Ponds?

The Clean Water Act was passed by the federal government in 1972, which provided the basic structure for regulating pollutant discharges into waters of the United States. Virginia has obligations under these federal regulations, which are administered by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). 

DEQ requires that towns the size of Leesburg have Municipal Storm Sewer Systems permits (MS4 permit) that address the various requirements for regulating pollutant discharges.

A part of the Town's MS4 permit is to develop a Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Action Plan with more detail about pollutant removal plans, which the Town created in September 2015.

This TMDL action plan outlines the ways the Town will reduce the pollutant load into the Chesapeake Bay, including educational outreach, street sweeping, illicit discharge detection and elimination, construction site runoff control, and town-initiated projects that remove pollutants, The projects outlined in the current action plan include the retrofitting of the Greenway Farm, Foxridge, and Stratford ponds, which are a part of the construction that is now complete.

Monarch Butterflies and Leesburg "Waystation"

Monarch butterflies travel all the way from Mexico to southern Canada every year in the spring and then back again to Mexico in the fall. Each journey may take three to four generations. The Monarchs will stop in Leesburg on both trips seeking native Common, Swamp, and Butterfly Weed Milkweed plants on which the monarch caterpillars feed, grow, and thrive. All three types of milkweed have been planted at this location, making it  a Monarch "Waystation". 
Please visit www.monarchwatch.org/waystations for more information.

Milkweed Flowers and Nectar

The flowers on milkweed bloom in the summer. Monarch butterflies and other pollinators feed on the nectar from milkweed and other flowers.

Milkweed Seed Pods

Milkweed seeds form inside these ponds in fall. Seeds can be planted in the fall and new plants will grow in spring!

For additional information on how to save the Monarch Butterfly, visit the links below:

• Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy – Audubon At Home
• Monarch Waystation Certification
• Save the Monarch Butterfly - USFWS
• NWF Educational Resources

Natural Mosquito Control: Purple Martins & Bats

Purple martins enjoy vast quantities of flying insects and are much sought after for controlling annoying insects like mosquitoes. They also love to eat beetles, flies, dragonflies, and moths. Purple martins prefer to live in groups in nesting boxes that resemble apartment houses

Installing Bat Boxes 

There are 15 bat species common to Virginia. All are insect eaters, catching mosquitoes, moths, and other flying insects. Virginia has no nectar-feeding bats or vampire bats that feed on blood. A single bat can catch up to 600 mosquitoes in one hour! Each rectangular box you see on a pole can provide a place for several bats to safely sleep during the day-and possibly hibernate during the winter. 

• Virginia Places
• Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries
• Virginia Department of Conservation & Recreation
• Bats Conservation International

Photo credits: 

• Echinacea - John Ruter, University of Georgia, Bugwood.org
• Purple Martin Flying - Andrew Dreelin, Macaulay Library

• Swamp Milkweed - David Cappaert, Bugwood.org