Bird Watching

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Birding Permits
Single day passes are available at the WPC Plant Administrative office. To obtain a permanent birding pass, please complete the birding application.
Birding Permit Application

The Roanoke Regional Water Pollution Control Plant has enjoyed a long history as one of the best birding locations in the Roanoke Valley and is one of the primary stopover locations for migrating birds.

Birding Permits

To ensure safety of all our visitors, permits are required for those wishing to access the plant for bird watching. One-day temporary passes can be obtained from the WPC Plant Administration office. Those interested in obtaining a permanent pass can complete a Birding Permit Application. Please note that it will take five business days to complete the registration process for a permanent pass. Temporary access can be granted in the interim period.

Passes are available at:

WPC Plant Administration Office
1502 Brownlee Avenue SE
Roanoke, VA 24014
(540-283-8269) Please call for details before your visit.

Access to the plant is granted Monday-Friday from 8am - 3:30pm.

Those wishing to obtain a bird watching pass much attend a brief safety orientation conducted by plant staff.

What to Expect while Birding at the WPC Plant

The WPC Plant features many different habitats that attract woodland, aquatic and grassland birds. The biosolid lagoons attract birds who prefer coastal mud flats or tidal pools. Birders can walk on gravel roads within the plant along the Roanoke River, next to the biosolids lagoons and adjacent to the wooded areas. As this is an industrial area, bird watchers are urged to use caution while at the plant.

Birders may also wish to walk along the Roanoke River Greenway (www.greenways.org) which runs through the rear of the WPC Plant property.

Two platforms have been constructed at the WPC Plant where visitors are invited to sit and watch the birds. One of the platforms is ADA accessible.

Over 242 species of birds have been documented at the WPC Plant including 62% of the birds native to Virginia.

In 2006, Michael W. Donahue wrote an article Bird Records from the Southwestern Virginia Roanoke Sewage Treatment Plant for the Virginia Natural History Society. This paper includes information about the facility and an annotated checklist of the birds seen up to that point.

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Roanoke Regional Water Pollution Control Plant

Constructed in 1951, the Roanoke Regional Water Pollution Control Plant provides wastewater treatment service for all jurisdictions in the Roanoke Valley. The facility occupies a 24-acre tract of property in southeast Roanoke City. With an average receiving flow of 37-million gallons per day, a drop of water entering the plant takes approximately 24-hours to move through all levels of the treatment facility. Along the way, more than 3,000 lab tests are conducted every month to verify that the liquid treatment process is meeting or exceeding water quality standards. The Regional Water Pollution Control Plant has some of the most stringent requirements for treatment of any plant in Virginia. Fully treated water is discharged to the Roanoke River.

Biosolids remaining after the digestion process is finished stay in lagoons at the plant for an additional nine months while anaerobic and aerobic bacteria consume any remaining organic matter. Once fully treated, the biosolid material is land applied to farms as fertilizer at no cost to farmers. More information about beneficial biosolids land application is available from the Virginia Biosolids Council.