Crab Creek Watershed Beautification Project

Thank you for your interest in the project.  Please fill out this form to be notified when the application process is open in the future. 

The Crab Creek Beautification Project is an effort to connect the Christiansburg community with their Crab Creek Watershed through watershed friendly landscaping practices on private property.  You may know that many waterways in Virginia are impaired and Crab Creek is no exception. The purpose of this program is to provide both cost-share and technical assistance to private property owners to assist in the improvement of water quality in the Crab Creek Watershed. Property owners and residents can apply for rebate funds to improve the landscape health of their property.

The landscaping practices, also known as best management practices (BMPs)  that are available within this program are:

These BMPs are primarily designed to manage stormwater coming from a source on the property, such as a roof, driveway or lawn. Sites with contributing offsite runoff can also be addressed with the practices in this program, but may require more extensive planning and engineering.

Native plants are an important part of many BMPs. Rainwater harvesting, rain gardens, and conservation landscaping within this program mostly rely on native plants to help achieve the result of increased water quality. Because of this, when planting is a part of the project, native plants will be a requirement*.

To learn more about regionally native plants, please refer to the  Southwest Virginia Native Plant Guide .

*The project will make an exception for edible plants.

Downtown businesses, churches, HOAs, commercial landowners, residential properties, and nonprofits. State, federal and public land do not qualify.

Want to talk to someone about whether your property is a good fit or discuss an idea you have? Please reach out to  nicole@nrvrc.org . We would need an address, a description of the water challenge you are noticing, and if you can submit photos, that would be even better! After gathering some information and having a conversation, if needed, we can likely send someone to your property to provide further support during the application process. Application support visits will be limited and available on a first come, first served basis. 

Also called a drainage basin or catchment. A watershed is a land area where all of the water that drains off (rainfall or snowmelt) goes into the same place—the OUTFLOW point. This can be a ditch, storm pipe, creek, stream, wetland, river, bay, reservoir, or ocean. Larger watersheds contain many smaller watersheds. For example, there are many creek or stream watersheds within a river watershed. Watersheds are important because the flow quantity and quality are affected by many things, human-induced or not, happening in the land area that drains into the outflow point. 

Not all landscapes are equal. Some landscapes are more supportive of clean water than others. Healthy landscapes provide a host of watershed services including water purification, ground water and surface flow regulation, erosion control, and streambank stabilization. Many of these services are tied to the plant cover (or lack thereof) on the land.

Water is a valuable public resource. It is the source of drinking water, recreation and tourism opportunities, wildlife habitat, water for agricultural and industrial uses, and more. All our drinking water either comes from groundwater, via a well or public water, via the New River. Higher sediment loads in tributaries, means higher sediment in the New River and ultimately higher drinking water costs, to remove that sediment. Additionally, poor water quality has a direct impact on aquatic wildlife, particularly fish, bugs, and plants. Excess nutrients, sediment, road salt, and other contaminants can reduce the variety and hardiness of organisms, which ultimately affects the quality of recreation opportunities around the region. Tiny organisms are the foundation of complex food webs. 

Scroll through the map to learn about the watershed.

The overall program goal of this project is to encourage owners of eligible land to install stormwater BMP retrofits that will provide nutrient and/or sediment reductions by offering cost-sharing financial incentives. These reductions occur in the landscape when stormwater is slowed down and filtered and stored or allowed to infiltrate back into the soil, which ultimately improves water quality in Crab Creek and its tributaries in Christiansburg. There are many secondary benefits that are associated with this program, habitat creation, pollinator support, and community engagement are just a few!

Watershed friendly landscaping is a great way for land managers/land owners to help improve the health of their landscape, but also the regional water quality. By participating in the Crab Creek Beautification Project, you can get support while you support the watershed! View the steps to participate below. 

Are you unable to participate in the program, but still interested in nurturing landscapes? Planting native plants is a great way to contribute to healthy landscapes.

Visit the  Plant SWVA Natives Campaign website  to learn more about native plants for our area.

Thank you for your interest in the project.  Please fill out this form to be notified when the application process is open in the future. 

All application documents can be found in the  resources section .

STEP 1: Check if your property is in the Crab Creek Watershed,  click here .

STEP 2: Submit an application. Full application process  here .

STEP 3: Notification of funding approval. 

STEP 4: BMP installation. Participants have 120 days to complete installation.

STEP 5: Verification of installation. Contact  nicole@nrvrc.org . 

STEP 6: Submit payment request. Use this  Payment Request Form: Form 4 .

STEP 7: Disbursement of payment. 

STEP 8: A spot check may be conducted at your site.

Contact Nicole Hersch at  nicole@nrvrc.org  or call 540-639-9313.

STEP 1: Verification of applicability,  click here .

STEP 2: Review  eligible BMPs .

STEP 3: Review approved  cost-share rates. 

STEP 4: Completion of  Application: Form 1. 

STEP 5: Submit Application Package. Application Package includes Form 1 and Project Site Map. Directions for Project Site Map are on page 3 of Form 1. 

STEP 6: Your application will be reviewed. The project will reach out to you to discuss your application and confirm details of the design plan. Please note, incomplete applications will not be considered. Submission of an application is not a guarantee of funding. 

STEP 7: You will be notified via email within 30 days of application submission if funding has been approved. This email will contain a copy of the Landowner Agreement: Form 2. You can review a copy of it  here .

STEP 8: Return Landowner Agreement within 30 days of receipt. This Agreement must be signed and returned before beginning BMP installation.  Continue with Step 4 in Steps to Participate above .

•  Application: Form 1 
•  Landowner Agreement: Form 2 
•  Agreement Transferring BMP Responsibility: Form 3  
•  Payment Request Form: Form 4 
•  In-Kind Work Log: Form 5 
•  Blank W-9 

•  Town of Christiansburg Downtown Watershed Study 
•  Town of Christiansburg Downtown Watershed Study Fact Sheet 
•  TMDL Development for Crab Creek 
•  TMDL Implementation Plan Technical Report 
•  VCAP Implementation and Design Manual 
•  Plant SWVA Natives Plant List 

•  New River Valley Regional Commission (NRVRC) 
•  Town of Christiansburg 
•  Downtown Christiansburg, Inc. 
•  Balzer and Associates 
•  Virginia Tech Landscape Architecture Department 
•  Virginia Department of Environmental Quality 
•  United States Environmental Protection Agency 
•  Plant SWVA Natives 

Does my property have to be in the Crab Creek Watershed to participate? Yes, input your address  at this link  to see if you qualify.  Section 319(h) project funds are strictly limited to use within the boundaries of EPA-approved watershed-based plans ("TMDL Implementation Plans" - "IPs" or approved alternatives). Section 319(h) project funds, provided by the EPA, cannot pay nor reimburse any costs associated with a BMP installed outside of the approved IP boundary. If a BMP is found to be located outside the approved IP boundary, the Grantee shall be responsible for reimbursing DEQ the full amount of 319(h) funds expended on the BMP, up to and including technical assistance funds. In these cases, 319(h) should not be used to fund BMPs.

What BMPs are included in this program?   The BMPs that are included in this program are impervious surface removal, pet waste disposal stations, rainwater harvesting, rain gardens, and conservation landscaping. These program funds may not be used to address issues like flooding, septic or other agricultural BMPs. If you are interested in other programs, please let us know. We appreciate hearing from you.

Do I have to apply? Yes, see application steps above.

How do I apply? See application steps above.

Is everyone approved? No, your application will be reviewed and a site visit will be made to determine site suitability.

How much cost share is available to me?  Visit this chart  to see how much.

What sort of support can I expect from participating in this program? Support is available before, during, and after the application process. Please note, according to the BMP guidelines (at the top of the website), participants are responsible for soliciting bids for BMP construction before cost-share may be approved and installation initiated. It is up to the participant to assemble the budget and manage the project- or hire someone to do so. To the best of their ability the Town of Christiansburg and the New River Valley Regional Commission will support qualified projects throughout the process. If you have questions about a potential project, please reach out to the email address below and include your address, property details, details about any water issues or identified wet spots, and photos if you can. Photos will be a required part of the application process.

Do I need to pay out of pocket? Yes, homeowners will be reimbursed after installation is complete and confirmed.

What is my commitment to the BMP? Participants will adhere to the maintenance agreement. Participants found to be out of compliance are notified pursuant to the guidelines knowns as “Compliance & Corrective Actions” and written/photo documentation of the noncompliance and resolution becomes a part of the program files. BMP maintenance should be continued regardless of transfer of control of property. The property owner is required to notify the program if there is a transfer of ownership.

I would like to install a rain garden, but it says I need to complete an infiltration test to do so, how do I do that?  The intention of the rain garden is to create a space where stormwater will infiltrate back into the ground. In Virginia, we have varying soils with varying infiltration rates. Here is a simple process that can help you test your soil's infiltration rate: 1. Dig a hole six inches wide and 18 inches deep.  2. Fill the hole with water and observe how long it takes for the water to infiltrate into the soil.  3. If the water has not infiltrated within 48 to 72 hours, then you will need to amend your soil to improve infiltration or choose another location for your rain garden.  

New River Valley Regional Commission 6580 Valley Center Drive, Suite 124 Radford, VA 24141 540-639-9313 Nicole Hersch nicole@nrvrc.org