Virginia Conservation Assistance Program

Applications are currently being accepted.  Please contact Chris Van Vlack at chris.vanvlack@lswcd.org or (571) 918-4530, ext. 107 to find out how you can participate in this conservation program.

What is VCAP?

The Virginia Conservation Assistance Program (VCAP) is Virginia’s conservation cost-share program for non-agricultural projects that provides financial incentives and technical/educational assistance to Loudoun County homeowners and businesses who install Best Management Practices (BMP’s) in Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay Watershed to create more watershed-friendly landscapes.

Why do Loudoun County’s waters need improving?

Non-point source pollution (from roads, parking lots, sidewalks, homes, lawns and offices) is the leading cause of water quality problems. Rainfall or snowmelt from rooftops, suburban lawns, golf courses, and paved surfaces picks up and carries away natural and human-made pollutants depositing them into ponds, streams, wetlands, ground water, and eventually the Potomac River. Common pollutants found in our waterways from stormwater runoff include fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, oil and greases, litter, pet waste, soil/sediment, nitrogen, phosphorus, bacteria and heavy metals.   This can be harmful to aquatic life, cause detrimental algal blooms, and contaminate local waters used for drinking water, swimming, fishing and boating.  Loudoun County is part of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.  This means these pollutants in our local waterways eventually drain to the Chesapeake Bay.

Photo By EPA

Want to help make a difference?

Participation in the VCAP program can help you to restore problem areas in your yard or community by controlling and minimizing erosion, improving riparian buffer areas, promoting wildlife habitat, re-vegetating bare spots, stabilizing drainage ways and treating stormwater runoff.  Some of the methods we help you do this are to:

  • Allow stormwater run-off to infiltrate through rain gardens and dry wells
  • Remove impervious (paved or concrete) surfaces
  • Install permeable pavement or pavers
  • Convert turfgrass or areas of bare soil to native plantings
  • To learn more about specific eligible practices and technical specifications: VCAP-PY23-24-Manual.pdf (vaswcd.org)
  • For general information go to www.vaswcd.org/vcap

Please contact Chris Van Vlack at chris.vanvlack@lswcd.org or (571) 918-4530, ext. 107 to find out how you can participate in this conservation program.

VCAP Fact Sheet LSWCD

VCAP Contractor List