Jan. 5, 2026 Editor, The News-Gazette: The Washington and Lee golf course and athletic facility now under development is a 100-plus-acre construction site in a residential area of the city and county. Woods Creek flows through the course and then through Lexington to Jordans Point where it joins the Maury River.
This summer after pesticide applications over 100 acres, dead crayfish were found along the creek and pesticide residues were detected in creek sediments. In December serious stormwater problems occurred. Many people took photos of the creek, which ran muddy for 3.5 miles all the way to Maury River, and made reports to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, the city, and the county that resulted in a stop work order issued by county officials.
The engineering plan that should have protected the creek failed after rainfall of only 1/2 inch. Silt and sediment transported by the stream and deposited on the creek bed also carried chemical pollutants - all harmful to the aquatic ecosystem of Woods Creek, which is designated as impaired for aquatic life and recreation.
It is imperative that better stormwater protections be put in place and the construction and management plan be revised to include riparian buffers along streams and water bodies and an integrated management plan to minimize or eliminate the use of chemicals.
Concerns can be conveyed to President Dudley at Washington and Lee, the owner of the course, and Rockbridge County, which oversees stormwater issues. They can also be raised in the upcoming Virginia Department of Environmental Quality public comment period.
DEBORAH WOODCOCK Lexington
