By RUSTY DENNEN

A coalition of Virginia river-protection groups has launched an effort to lobby state legislators for a major, long-term source of funds to address water pollution.

The Healthy Rivers Initiative, announced yesterday, comes at a time when biological "dead zones" in the Chesapeake Bay are the worst on record and the state's rivers face serious pollution threats from runoff, nutrients and toxic algae blooms.

"A historic opportunity calls for historic action for sorely needed funding to clean up Virginia's rivers," said Bill Street, director of the James River Association. "Together, [we] want to make sure the General Assembly hears loud and clear."

Others backing the first comprehensive lobbying effort of its kind are the Potomac Conservancy, Friends of the Rivers of Virginia, and the Fredericksburg-based Friends of the Rappahannock.

W. Tayloe Murphy Jr., Virginia's secretary of natural resources, who has sought more money to clean up the Bay, applauded the effort.

"Clean-water funding is critical to all of Virginia's waters, from local creeks and streams to our major rivers and the Chesapeake Bay," he said.

Persuading legislators to provide a permanent and substantial source of funds to improve water quality in the Potomac, Rappahannock, York, James, New, Chowan, Shenandoah and Roanoke rivers and their tributaries gained some momentum during last year's session when a one-time sum of $54 million was appropriated from the general fund to upgrade sewage treatment plants.

But conservationists consider that a drop in the bucket, compared with the estimated $1.8 billion it will cost to address river pollution problems over the next 10 to 15 years.

The coalition wants annual installments of at least $160 million, at a time when legislators have other, higher, priorities such as transportation and education.

Lawmakers agreed to revisit the issue in the upcoming session in January, committing the state to provide future payments and studying funding options.

Street said the coalition aims to bring other conservation groups on board and hire a lobbyist to push for the steady funding for water-quality programs.

To meet a 2010 Environmental Protection Agency deadline, Virginia has been developing plans and timetables to address water pollution. Under the federal Clean Water Act, in 1994 Virginia began water monitoring every other year.

Results have been alarming.