Such an influx will undoubtedly increase demands on the River. Already Harrisonburg is among the top five percent of urban areas as a priority for urban pollution. Further the Shenandoah valley is home to a variety of industries which are potential sources of point source pollution. These point sources can have a great effect on the water quality of the Shenandoah. Avtex was found to have illegally discharged 1.5 million gallons of PCBs into the River two miles south of Front Royal, Virginia.
Cleanup efforts are ongoing.
The effects on the River were extensive and quite harmful. High levels of PCBs were found in fish and sediment samples at several water monitoring stations resulting in fish consumption advisories. The Virginia Department of Health advises that from the state route 619 bridge on the South Fork and from Passage Creek on the North Fork downstream to their confluence at Front Royal and then on to the West Virginia state line, no fish should be consumed from the Shenandoah due to contamination by PCBs. E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Co. was found to have released mercury in the South Fork Shenandoah between 1929 and 1950. Similar contamination effects were discovered and fish consumption advisories are also in place as a result of this pollutant.