Name: Water Quality and Stream Monitoring Award

Years Awarded: 2026

Type Awarded: Grant

Details: Land clearing, development, and construction of new data centers have become increasingly common in central Virginia. The long-term impacts on surrounding ecosystems and downstream waterways are not yet fully understood. The Water Quality and Stream Monitoring Award supports hands-on research to assess both water quality and stream flow conditions in the three streams that run through the Stafford Technology Campus (STC). Recipients of this award will: -Conduct regular stream measurements, including pH, total dissolved solids, water velocity, and stream width and depth (used to calculate stream discharge) -Record, graph, and analyze data to evaluate potential impacts of land clearing and development on local streams and downstream wetlands. -Make collected data accessible to the public through organized records and public presentations. -Write one newsletter article for publication by a local environmental organization. JFETF reserves the right to publish research findings on JFETF.org.

Status: Completed. Sarah Balon completed a water quality assessment of streams at and near the Stafford Technology Campus data center site in Stafford County, Virginia. From March through June 2026, she conducted weekly monitoring of stream pH, total dissolved solids, conductivity, salinity, and temperature, and collected water samples for laboratory analysis. Her study documented changes in water quality and stream conditions during construction and land clearing at the site, including low pH readings, elevated concentrations of aluminum, cadmium, lead, and zinc, temperature differences between cleared and forested areas, and declining water levels downstream in the Potomac Run Wetland. Sarah summarized her research in a final report, Water Quality Assessment of Streams at the Stafford Technology Campus Data Center Site: https://jfetf.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Water-quality-assessment-of-streams-at-the-Stafford-Technology-Campus-data-center-site-Sarah-Balon-compressed.pdf