The Rappahannock River Basin or Watershed includes the land and water drainage area that flows to the Rappahannock River. The area of the watershed is approximately 2715 square miles, and includes the counties of Albemarle, Caroline, Essex, Fauquier, Greene, King George, Lancaster, Madison, Middlesex, Northumberland, Orange, Rappahannock, Richmond, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Westmoreland. The City of Fredericksburg and several towns also share the watershed.
The waterway begins as streams flowing from the eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge mountains. The southern streams form the Rapidan River, while the Rappahannock River forms in the northern localities of the watershed. The Rapidan meets the Rappahannock just west of Fredericksburg, where Culpeper, Stafford, and Spotsylvania counties share borders. The river at Fredericksburg travels through the fall line geologic formation, characterized by rocks and rapids. East of Frederickburg, the Rappahannock enters the coastal province of the state, where the waters receive tidal influences from the Chesapeake Bay. The river continues to widen and becomes increasingly brackish as it flows east toward Stingray Point and Windmill Point where it meets the Bay.
The following lists the locality and the percent of the locality located within the Rappahannock River Basin:
| Locality | % Area in Basin | Locality | % Area in Basin |
| Albemarle | 1 | Madison | 100 |
| Caroline | 20 | Middlesex | 42 |
| Culpeper | 100 | Northumberland | 1 |
| Essex | 90 | Orange | 56 |
| Fauquier | 44 | Rappahannock | 100 |
| Fredericksburg | 100 | Richmond | 88 |
| Greene | 41 | Spotsylvania | 23 |
| King George | 38 | Stafford | 29 |
| Lancaster | 90 | Westmoreland | 26 |
Land Use
Landuse Characteristics
The vast majority of the land area within the basin is in rural and conservation uses. These rural uses can include forestry, farming, low density residential, and small pockets of mixed uses. The areas around the City of Fredericksburg, and around several of the towns include various residential uses, along with commercial, industrial, and other mixed uses. A large land area in Caroline County contains the Fort A. P. Hill military base.
The following lists the locality and the percent of each landuse of the locality within the Rappahannock River Basin:
| Locality | %Rural | %Residential | %Mixed | %Commercial | %Industrial | %Conservation | %Military |
| Albemarle | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Caroline | 29 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 69 |
| Culpeper | 88 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Essex | 95 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fauquier | 87 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Fredericksburg | 0 | 64 | 0 | 18 | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| Greene | 53 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 35 | 0 |
| King George | 92 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Lancaster | 45 | 24 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Madison | 66 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 31 | 0 |
| Middlesex | 15 | 77 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Northumberland | 99 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Orange | 81 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Rappahannock | 56 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 0 |
| Richmond | 96 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Spotsylvania | 0 | 89 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 0 |
| Stafford | 56 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 13 | 0 |
| Westmoreland | 91 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Population
The population densities shown on the following map were derived from the 1990 U. S. Census, and were analyzed by Block Group. The map shows that higher population densities are centered around the Town of Culpeper, the City of Fredericksburg, and near the mouth of the river along the shorelines of Lancaster and Middlesex Counties. Note that since Census Block Groups do not necessarily follow the basin delineation, population counts along the watershed boundary may include persons located outside the watershed.
The following lists the locality and the estimated number of persons in the locality located within the Rappahannock River Basin:
| Locality | # Persons in Basin | Locality | # Persons in Basin |
| Albemarle | * | Madison | 11949 |
| Caroline | 1418 | Middlesex | 8209 |
| Culpeper | 27791 | Northumberland | * |
| Essex | 8249 | Orange | 17973 |
| Fauquier | 24737 | Rappahannock | 6622 |
| Fredericksburg | 16603 | Richmond | 7273 |
| Greene | 4698 | Spotsylvania | 45608 |
| King George | 6652 | Stafford | 24046 |
| Lancaster | 10644 | Westmoreland | 5930 |
Wetlands
The National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) is a project of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The wetlands delineations shown on the following page are the digitally available NWI plus four 7.5 minute quad based NWI hardcopy sheets that were digitized. The areas where no wetlands are shown do not have the inventory in a digital format. The NWI is in the process of being updated and converted to digital format.
The following table of wetlands areas by locality in the basin includes notation where data is not available or only partially covers the locality.
* Partial Coverage of Locality** No Digital Coverage
| Locality | Acres Wetlands in Basin | Locality | Acres Wetlands in Basin |
| Albemarle | 7 | Madison | 1032 |
| Caroline | 437* | Middlesex | 4238 |
| Culpeper | 1167* | Northumberland | 7 |
| Essex | 15080 | Orange | 7871* |
| Fauquier | 200* | Rappahannock | 4680* |
| Fredericksburg | ** | Richmond | 29106 |
| Greene | 188* | Spotsylvania | ** |
| King George | 2737 | Stafford | 261* |
| Lancaster | 4794 | Westmoreland | 3885 |
100 Year Floodplain
The data source for the 100 Year Floodplain is the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Q3 digital data and Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM).
The following is a table of floodplain areas in the basin by locality:
| Locality | Sq. Miles Floodplain in Basin | Locality | Sq. Miles Floodplain in Basin |
| Albemarle | 0.09 | Madison | 11.0 |
| Caroline | 12.8 | Middlesex | 12.5 |
| Culpeper | 25.7 | Northumberland | 0.00 |
| Essex | 45.2 | Orange | 11.3 |
| Fauquier | 16.3 | Rappahannock | 5.27 |
| Fredericksburg | 0.64 | Richmond | 13.7 |
| Greene | 2.02 | Spotsylvania | 5.85 |
| King George | 11.5 | Stafford | 9.73 |
| Lancaster | 20.8 | Westmoreland | 8.19 |
Onsite Septic Suitability
The determination of suitable soils for onsite septic drainfield absorption systems is determined by soil tests at the site conducted by the Health Department or other soil scientists. The suitability map on the following page provides a general indication of the suitability for onsite absorption systems based on soil type. Soil surveys usually list in a table the limitations one might expect for a particular soil type. These limitations are noted as ” None”, “Moderate” or “Severe”, which correspond to the “Suitable”, “Limited”, and “Unsuitable” categories found on the map legend. The soil survey tables are based on high water table and permeability. It should be noted that due to the year that a particular soil survey was completed, the soil suitability indices may no longer be current. To account for this, the project utilized the latest soil type indices available from the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Prime Agricultural Soils
The Natural Resources Conservation Service rates soil types as to their quality for agricultural production. It is well known that the Rappahannock River basin contains many acres of quality farm land. The map shows those soil types regarded as “Prime” for crop production.
The following is a table of prime agricultural soils areas in the basin by locality:
| Locality | Acres Prime Soils in Basin | Locality | Acres Prime Soils in Basin |
| Albemarle | not calculated | Madison | 28,401 |
| Caroline | 35,906 | Middlesex | 21,784 |
| Culpeper | 76,374 | Northumberland | 832 |
| Essex | 64,357 | Orange | 10,280 |
| Fauquier | 39,367 | Rappahannock | 46,438 |
| Fredericksburg | no survey | Richmond | 55,713 |
| Greene | 4131 | Spotsylvania | 13,206 |
| King George | 15,015 | Stafford | 17,733 |
| Lancaster | 33,243 | Westmoreland | 16,750 |
VPDES Permit Locations
The Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (VPDES) program is managed by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. Permits are issued to wastewater dischargers setting effluent limits and monitoring and reporting requirements. The following list corresponds to the location numbers found on the map:
| Number | Name | MGD Flow | Receiving Stream |
| 1 | American Security Council Fnd | 0.02 | Hazel River, UT |
| 2 | Quarles Petroleum – Culpeper | 0.03 | Jonas Run, UT |
| 3 | Aileen, Inc. STP | 0.02 | Hickman Run |
| 4 | Washington WTP | 0.01 | Rush River |
| 5 | Rappahannock River Elementary School | 0.01 | Rush River, UT |
| 6 | Rappahannock River H. Sch. | 0.01 | Covington River, UT |
| 7 | Sperryville STP | 0.06 | Thornton River |
| 8 | Marshall STP | 0.64 | Carter Run, UT |
| 9 | Warrenton STP | 2.50 | Great Run, UT |
| 10 | River Ridge Utility | 0.05 | Rappahannock River |
| 11 | South Wales Utility, Inc. | 0.07 | Rappahannock River, UT |
| 12 | South Wales Utility STP | 0.86 | Rappahannock River |
| 13 | Fauquier Springs Country Club | 0.02 | Rappahannock River |
| 14 | Emerald Hill Elem. School | 0.01 | Muddy River |
| 15 | Opal STP | 0.03 | Tinpot Run, UT |
| 16 | Trinity Packaging Corp. | 0.00 | Tinpot Run, UT |
| 17 | Colonial Pipeline-Remington | 0.00 | Brown’s Run, UT |
| 18 | Remington Wastewater Treatment | 1.40 | Rappahannock River |
| 19 | Mary Walter Elem. Sch. | 0.01 | Harper’s Run |
| 20 | Mount Dumplin STP | 0.30 | Flat Run, UT |
| 21 | Culpeper Co. Ind. Airpark STP | ||
| 22 | Ferguson STP | 0.00 | Jonas Run, UT |
| 23 | Culpeper Wood Preservers | 0.80 | Jonas Run, UT |
| 24 | Culpeper Petroleum Cooperative | 0.00 | Mountain Run, UT |
| 25 | Culpeper WTP | 0.27 | Mountain Run |
| 26 | Culpeper Concrete | 0.00 | Mountain Run, UT |
| 27 | Culpeper Wastewater Plant | 3.00 | Mountain Run |
| 28 | American Security Council Fndn | 0.45 | Hazel River |
| 29 | ITT Automotive North America | 0.03 | Meadowbrook Run, UT |
| 31 | Medium Sec. Dorm IV – Culpeper | 0.20 | Cabin Branch |
| 32 | Hartland Institute | 0.03 | Robinson River |
| 33 | Cleydael Limited Partnership | ||
| 34 | Rapidan Serive Authority – Madison Wate | 0.02 | White Oak Run, UT |
| 35 | RSA-Madison STP | 0.08 | Little Dark Run |
| 36 | Madison Wood Preservers | 0.00 | Little Dark Run |
| 37 | Madison Co. H. Sch. | 0.01 | Little Dark Run |
| 38 | Madison Co. Primary Sch. | 0.01 | Dark Run, UT |
| 39 | Mountain View Nursing Home | 0.01 | Great Run, UT |
| 40 | Madison Co. Elem. Sch. | 0.00 | Little Dark Run, UT |
| 41 | Woodberry Forest Sch. | 0.00 | Rapidan River, UT |
| 42 | Orange, Town of | 1.50 | Rapidan River |
| 43 | Orange, Town WTP | 0.20 | Poplar Run, UT and Poplar Run |
| 44 | Rapidan Baptist Camp & Conf Ct | 0.02 | Rapidan River, UT |
| 45 | Greene County WTP | 0.01 | Rapidan River |
| Number | Name | MGD Flow | Receiving Stream |
| 46 | IIHS Veh. Safety Research Ctr. | ||
| 47 | Luck Stone – Ruckersville | 0.30 | White Run |
| 48 | Atlantic Research-Orange | 0.04 | Mountain Run and UT |
| 49 | Colonial Pipeline-Locust Grove | 0.00 | Mine Run, UT |
| 50 | Locust Grove Elem. Sch. | 0.03 | Cormack Run, UT |
| 51 | Wilderness STP | 0.50 | Rapidan River |
| 52 | Flat Run POTW | 0.25 | Flat Run |
| 53 | Wilderness Corner Shopping Cnt | 0.04 | Wilderness Run |
| 54 | Lake Wilderness WTP | 0.02 | Grant Lake, UT |
| 55 | Hartwood Elem. Sch. | 0.01 | Horsepen Run, UT |
| 56 | Tarmac – Falmouth | 0.03 | England Run, UT |
| 57 | Colonial Concrete | 0.00 | Rappahannock River, UT |
| 58 | Quarles Petroleum – Stafford | ||
| 59 | Fredericksburg WTP | 0.42 | Rappahannock River |
| 60 | Quarles Petroleum – Fred’burg | 3.60 | Deep Run, UT |
| 61 | FMC Wastewater Treatment Facility | 4.00 | Rappahannock River |
| 62 | Fredericksburg WWTF | 3.50 | Rappahannock River |
| 63 | Glenwood Mobile Home Park | 0.03 | Massaponax Creek, UT |
| 64 | Exposaic Industries | 0.00 | Massaponax Creek, UT |
| 65 | Exposaic Industries, Inc. STP | 0.01 | Massaponax Creek, UT |
| 66 | Massaponax WWTF | 6.00 | Rappahannock River |
| 67 | Little Falls Run WWTP | 4.00 | Rappahannock River |
| 68 | Hopyard Farm WWTF | 0.25 | Rappahannock River |
| 69 | Presidential Lakes, Section 14 | 0.04 | Popcastle Creek |
| 70 | Four Winds Campground STP | 0.04 | Skinkers Creek, Rappahannock |
| 71 | SEI Birchwood Power Facility | 0.57 | Rappahannock River |
| 72 | White Packing Company, Inc. | 0.12 | Rappahannock River |
| 73 | Haymount WWTF | 0.24 | Rappahannock River |
| 74 | Ft. A. P. Hill – Wilcox | 0.53 | Mill Creek, UT |
| 75 | Northern Neck Coca-Cola Co. | 0.00 | UT Chandlers Mill Pond |
| 76 | Montross Sewer Cooperative STP | 0.00 | UTPortersMdw.,Chandler’s Pond |
| 77 | Montross Westmoreland WWTP | 0.10 | Ruin Branch, Cat Point Creek |
| 78 | Washington & Lee High School | 0.01 | Ruin Branch, Cat Point Creek |
| 79 | Wood Preservers, Inc. | 0.00 | Cat Point Creek, Totuskey Creek |
| 80 | Haynesville Correctional Ctr. | 0.15 | UT Garlands Mill Pond |
| 81 | Warsaw Aerated Lagoons | 0.30 | UT Totuskey Creek |
| 82 | Town of Tappahannock | 0.40 | Hoskins Creek |
| 83 | U.S. Land & Lumber Co., L.L.C. | ||
| 84 | Doggett Seafood, LLC | ||
| 85 | W. F. Morgan and Sons, Inc. | ||
| 86 | The Tides Inn, Inc. | 0.03 | Carter’s Creek |
| 87 | The Tides Golf Lodge, Inc | 0.03 | Carter’s Creek |
| 88 | Windmill Point Marine Resort | 0.03 | Windmill Point M.R. Boat Basin |
| 89 | Town of Urbanna STP | 0.10 | Urbanna Creek |
| 90 | Middle Pen. Reg. Security Ctr. | 0.04 | Intermittent trib. to Urbanna Cr. |
| 91 | Christchurch School | 0.04 | INTRIB Rappahannock River |
| 92 | Mizpah Nursing Home STP | 0.02 | Rappahannock River |
| 93 | Kruse’s Wharf | 0.01 | Broad Creek |
| 94 | Bay Ventures, LTD | ||
| 95 | Green’s Marina & Boat Yard | 0.01 | Broad Creek |
| 96 | Norton’s Marina, Inc. | 0.01 | Broad Creek |
| 97 | Dozier’s Dockyard, Inc. | 0.01 | Broad Creek |
Federal and State Lands
| Albemarle: | NONE | |
| Caroline: | FT A.P. HILL MIL RES | |
| DEPARTMENT OF GAME AND INLAND FISHERIES | ||
| Culpeper: | DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION | |
| DEPARTMENT OF STATE POLICE | ||
| DEPARTMENT OF GAME AND INLAND FISHERIES | ||
| DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION | ||
| US MIL RES – WARRENTON TR.CTR. | ||
| NORTHERN REGION CORRECTIONS FIELD UNITS | ||
| FREDERICKSBURG- SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD PARK | ||
| Essex : | DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY | |
| DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION | ||
| Fauquier: | DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION | |
| US MIL RES – WARRENTON TR CTR | ||
| DEPARTMENT OF MILITARY AFFAIRS | ||
| DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY | ||
| DEPT. OF AGRICULTURA & CONSUMER SERVICES | ||
| DEPARTMENT OF STATE POLICE | ||
| DEPARTMENT OF GAME AND INLAND FISHERIES | ||
| Fredericksburg: | MARY WASHINGTON COLLEGE | |
| FREDERICKSBURG- SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD PARK | ||
| DEPARTMENT OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL | ||
| DEPARTMENT OF GAME AND INLAND FISHERIES | ||
| NATIONAL CEMETERY | ||
| DEPARTMENT OF MILITARY AFFAIRS | ||
| ALUM SPRING PARK | ||
| Greene: | SHENANDOAH NATIONAL PARK | |
| DEPARTMENT OF GAME AND INLAND FISHERIES | ||
| DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION | ||
| King George: | DEPARTMENT OF GAME AND INLAND FISHERIES | |
| Lancaster: | BELLE ISLE STATE PARK | |
| DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION | ||
| DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY | ||
| Madison: | SHENANDOAH NATIONAL PARK | |
| DEPARTMENT OF GAME AND INLAND FISHERIES | ||
| DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION | ||
| Middlesex: | DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION | |
| Northumberland: | NONE | |
| Orange: | GERMANNA COMMUNITY COLLEGE | |
| FREDERICKSBURG- SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD PARK | ||
| DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION | ||
| Rappahannock: | DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION | |
| Spotsylvania: | DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION | |
| FREDERICKSBURG- SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD PARK | ||
| DEPARTMENT OF STATE POLICE | ||
| DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES | ||
| Stafford: | MARY WASHINGTON COLLEGE | |
| DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION | ||
| FREDERICKSBURG- SPOTSYLVANIA NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD PARK | ||
| DEPARTMENT OF GAME AND INLAND FISHERIES | ||
| Westmoreland: | NONE | |
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