A new University of Virginia study led by environmental scientist Justin Richardson shows that phosphorus pollution driving algae blooms in Virginia's Lake Anna may come from residential areas as well as farms, but a more significant source of these toxins are legacy mines that continue to release toxic metals like arsenic and lead into local waterways.
The research, published in Environmental Science and Pollution Research , measured phosphorus and potentially harmful elements such as arsenic, lead and copper in stream waters, sediments and mine tailings across nine groundwater drainage regions of the Lake Anna basin. The findings suggest that elevated phosphorus levels were not strongly linked to agricultural land, challenging existing assumptions that farms are the predominant source of fertilizer runoff that fuels algae blooms, reduces water quality and disrupts aquatic ecosystems.
“Our study suggests that the phosphorus pollution driving algae blooms in Lake Anna is not necessarily coming from farms but also from homes,” said Richardson, an assistant professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences who co-authored the paper with undergraduates Sophia Schroeder and Robert Kohlhaas who were involved in data collection, analysis and interpretation. “It also shows that abandoned mine waste materials are leaching elevated amounts of elements like arsenic and lead and fish killing metals like copper into the streams and Lake Anna.”
Additionally, the team found that Lake Anna retains most of the phosphorus and toxic elements delivered to it, releasing it on an ongoing bases to the North Anna River. Elevated concentrations of metals were especially pronounced near the Contrary Creek subwatershed, where exposed mine tailings continue to influence the tributary’s water quality.
The study highlights the need for broader strategies to address both nutrient and metal pollution in the watershed, including consideration of residential runoff and remediation of historical mining sites.
Environmental Science and Pollution Research
Phosphorus and potentially toxic elements in stream waters, sediments, mine tailings, and pines across Lake Anna watershed, VA, USA, and biochar-lime remediation
13-Jan-2026