The Dan River enters Buggs Island Lake just east of South Boston, about 20 miles upstream of Clarksville, VA. The river ends were it enters the lake. Its sediment load is dispersed, the heavy material dropped almost as soon as the lake is entered, forming a sedimentary deposit called a delta. The finer-grained material is carried far out into the lake. After heavy rains, the entire lake may be stained red by suspended red clay. Eventually, this too settles out as a layer of mud on the bottom of the lake.
The Dan River joins the Roanoke River in the John Kerr Reservior. The Roanoke River continues southeasterly across the Piedmont through North Carolina and into the Atlantic Ocean at the Albemarle Sound, NC.
Water Test Results
May 15, 1998
Quantitative:
Students tested water samples collected from the Kerr Reservoir in Clarksville, Virginia and
samples from Gaston, Virginia. They recorded a pH level of 7.5 at both the sites. No traces of
ammonia nitrogen, chlorine, chromium, copper, cyanide, iron, nor sulfide were found. Students
did find evidence of nitrate nitrogen, phosphorus, and silica in both samples. While analyzing the
results, students observed a darker color in the Clarksville samples as compared to the Gaston
samples. Students recorded more pollutants at the Gaston site.
After comparing these results to the previous tests taken at Meadows of Dan, Kibler Valley,
Danbury, Eden, Danville, and South Boston, students concluded that the levels of these
pollutants had increased as the Dan River traveled through the Kerr Reservoir and to the Atlantic
Ocean. Causes for increased pollutants in the Dan River included greater population densities and
increased industrial and business sites near the river. Students agreed with the pollution survey
results: pollution may be caused by "anything from A to Z."
Qualitative:
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Last Updated May 19, 1998 by Meadows of Dan Elementary