SML water quality reported to be ‘excellent' by Monitoring Program
SMITH MOUNTAIN LAKE, Va. (WFXR) – The Smith Mountain Lake Water Quality Monitoring Program has reported on its findings of the lake water health.
Data shows the overall health of the lake is 'excellent' after monitoring phosphorus concentration, chlorophyll-a concentration, and water clarity.
'Smith Mountain Lake is known as the Jewel of the Blue Ridge Mountains for its pristine water,' said SMLA Water Quality Monitoring Program Chair Tom Hardy. 'The work done by our volunteers is essential for protecting the lake for today and for future generations.'
Baby giants now swimming in Smith Mountain Lake and other Virginia lakes
A team of 53 volunteers participated in the SMLA Water Quality Monitoring Program by donating their time, boats, and gas to head out on the water every two weeks over the summer to collect water samples. These samples helped retrieve water clarity readings.
A total of 1,176 data points were collected each year for the past 38 years along with collaborating with scientists from Ferrum College who analyzed the samples and additional measurements.
Phosphorus levels have declined in 2024 by 8% lower than the 20-year average. Having too much phosphorus can cause a large algae growth. The highest measures of phosphorus levels reached were in 1999.
Take a break at Smith Mountain Lake
This data also showed that the concentration of chlorophyll-a was the lowest in the past 20 years.
The lake water is also 5% clearer than the 20-year average and is measured by small particles in the water like dirt, silt, and algae.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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2 days ago
A pregnant brain-dead woman in Georgia was kept on life support. Experts say it raises ethical, legal questions
Adriana Smith, a 31-year-old Georgia nurse and mother, was just eight weeks pregnant when she was declared brain dead in February after suffering a medical condition. However, the family claims the hospital told them legally she had to be kept on life support to allow the fetus to grow due to the state's strict abortion law. Her family alleges they were not allowed a say in whether to continue her care, according to local Atlanta station 11Alive. Last week, Smith's baby was born by emergency Caesarean section, weighing under 2 pounds and needing care in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), reported 11Alive. Smith's family did not respond to ABC News' request for comment. In a statement to ABC News, Emory Healthcare, the health care system Emory hospitals fall under, said its staff makes medical recommendations for patients using many factors. "The top priorities at Emory Healthcare continue to be the safety and wellbeing of the patients and families we serve. Emory Healthcare uses consensus from clinical experts, medical literature and legal guidance to support our providers as they make medical recommendations," the statement read. "Emory Healthcare is legally required to maintain the confidentiality of the protected health information of our patients, which is why we are unable to comment on individual matters and circumstances.' The case has captured national attention and raised numerous legal and ethical questions about medical consent; who should get to make decisions for permanently incapacitated people, especially when pregnant; and whether abortion laws are further complicating pregnancy care. "This is a case that reflects the confusion in the post-Dobbs-era," Michele Goodwin, the O'Neill professor of constitutional law and global health policy at Georgetown Law, told ABC News, referencing the Supreme Court decision that resulted in the overruling of Roe v. Wade. "Because the hospital believed that it could not allow this brain-dead woman to simply be deceased because the state has a very strict abortion law, they believe that they needed to do all matters possible to keep the fetus alive," she continued. What happened to Adriana Smith? Smith, who was 30 at the time, went to Northside Hospital in metro Atlanta in early February after developing severe headaches, her mother, April Newkirk, told 11Alive. Newkirk said Smith was given medication and sent home. She was not given a CT scan and not kept overnight for observation, according to Newkirk. Northside Hospital did not immediately return ABC News' request for comment. Newkirk said Smith's boyfriend woke up to her daughter gasping for air and she was taken to Emory Decatur -- and then Emory University Hospital -- where a CT scan showed multiple blood clots in her brain, according to 11Alive. She was declared brain dead on Feb. 19. The family told the local station that doctors allegedly said they were legally obligated to keep Smith on life support until the fetus was viable. "I think every woman should have the right to make their own decision," Newkirk told 11Alive. "And if not, then their partner or their parents." Newkirk said the family might not have chosen to end the pregnancy, but not having the decision because of the law added to their trauma, reported 11Alive. How does Georgia's abortion law play a role? In 2019, Gov. Brian Kemp signed into law Georgia's so-called heartbeat bill, known as the LIFE Act. The law prevents abortions from being performed once fetal cardiac activity can be detected, which typically occurs at about six weeks' gestation -- before many women know they're pregnant -- and redefines the word "person" in Georgia to include an embryo or fetus at any stage of development. The ban was initially blocked in court but was reinstated after the U.S. Supreme Court overruled Roe v. 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Thaddeus Pope, a law professor and bioethicist at the Mitchell Hamlin School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota, agreed, saying if the family had declined continuing organ-sustaining treatment for Smith, it would not qualify as an abortion. "Yes, it would cause the death of the fetus, but that would not have been the goal or the intent or the motive, and that's a requirement under the definition of an abortion in the state of Georgia," he told ABC News. He added that Emory health care professionals may have been worried about turning off life support due to the "fetal personhood" section of the act. In a statement to 11Alive in May, the Georgia attorney general's office clarified that the act did not require Emory to keep Smith on life support. The office did not return ABC News' request for comment. Who gets to make medical decisions? 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3 days ago
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Adriana Smith, Brain-Dead Georgia Mom On Life Support, Gives Birth Via C-Section
Source: Courtesy of Family / Courtesy Photo After months of being on life support due to a medical emergency linked to blood clots in her brain, Adriana Smith's baby boy was delivered via C-section prematurely on Friday, June 13, according to local Atlanta affiliate 11Alive. But the miracle birth is a bittersweet one, as Smith's family also has to prepare her funeral. Speaking with the outlet following the birth of her grandson, Smith's mother, April Newkirk, provided an update on the baby's health after weighing in at 1 pound, 13 ounces and being placed in the NICU. 'He's expected to be OK,' Newkirk shared. 'He's just fighting. We just want prayers for him. Just keep praying for him. He's here now.' Visibly emotional, Newkirk expressed her feelings about saying a final goodbye to her daughter after months on forced life support due to Georgia's abortion ban. 'It's kind of hard, you know,' she said of her daughter, who turned 31 years old on June 15. 'It's hard to process. I'm her mother. I shouldn't be burying my daughter. My daughter should be burying me.' 'If I could say one more thing to her, I guess I would tell her that I love her and that she was a great daughter,' Newkirk added. Per Georgia law, most abortions are banned after cardiac activity is detected, which is around six weeks of pregnancy and before many women even realize they are pregnant. On February 19, Smith, a nurse, was declared brain dead at eight weeks pregnant. Newkirk said doctors then informed her that due to Georgia's abortion law, House Bill 481 or the LIFE Act, they were required to keep Smith on life support until the baby could be delivered, according to 11Alive. However, the LIFE Act does not explicitly address situations involving brain death, which experts say has caused confusion. The Georgia Attorney General's Office issued a statement back in May addressing the controversial law. 'There is nothing in the LIFE Act that requires medical professionals to keep a woman on life support after brain death,' said office spokesperson Kara Murray. 'Removing life support is not an action with the purpose to terminate a pregnancy.' 'I'm not saying we would have chosen to terminate her pregnancy. But I'm saying we should have had a choice,' Newkirk previously told the outlet of her daughter's right to choose. 'I think all women should have a choice about their body. And I think I want people to know that.' 'The same field that she worked in is the same people that failed her,' Newkirk said. SEE ALSO Adriana Smith, Brain-Dead Georgia Mom On Life Support, Gives Birth Via C-Section was originally published on Black America Web Featured Video CLOSE
