Council backs water plan

By Seth Rosen

Published: June 2, 2008

City councilors unanimously reiterated their endorsement of the local water supply plan Monday but added a major caveat that could yet have ramifications: the request for more study on the feasibility of dredging.

The vote, which comes after months of sometimes contentious debate, was a victory for those who believe the $142.8 million supply plan is the best and most cost-effective way to ensure the community has enough water for the next 50 years.

But by requesting that the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority undertake a study on the viability of dredging the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir, councilors did not close off the possibility that the plan could be altered.

“I would like to move ahead on it and at the same time I want to look at the dredging issue,” Councilor Julian Taliaferro said. “And if something changes on it, I am certainly open to making some adjustments.”

The water supply plan — which was backed two years ago by councilors and the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors — calls for the construction of a new dam at the Ragged Mountain Reservoir and, to fill the expanded capacity, the building of a pipeline from the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir. The water level in the reservoir would be raised by 45 feet — increasing storage from 464 million gallons to 2.19 billion — while submerging an estimated 180 acres of forests, including hiking trails.

The state’s Department of Environmental Quality already has provided a permit for the building of the pipeline and bigger dam, but federal officials still need to grant approval and an agreement needs to be reached on how to pay for the costly upgrades.

The plan’s supporters say it meets the community’s growing demand, keeps the water supply within the area and helps restore local rivers — all at a reasonable price.

Yet in recent months an ever-expanding number of local residents and former elected officials have called on councilors to hold off until more study can be done on the effectiveness of dredging silt out of the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir. The water authority has dismissed dredging as too expensive, pointing to a consultant’s estimate that it would cost $223 million.

But dredging the reservoir means that a lower dam could be built at Ragged Mountain, opponents say, saving millions of dollars and keeping more money in the pockets of residents. A group that includes former Councilor Kevin Lynch has generated alternatives that would cost between $80 million and $110 million and include a combination of dredging and other improvements.

Councilor David Brown insisted Monday that dredging and building a bigger dam would save only about $7 million because the big expense comes from constructing the base of the new dam.

“To try to combine dredging with expanding the dam part way just doesn’t work economically,” Brown said.

Other councilors are more sanguine about the potential of dredging. Mayor Dave Norris said that while he supports the water supply plan, more study is necessary.

“If dredging does prove to be feasible and if we do decide to do dredging anyway and do find ways to save water on a sustainable basis … [there is a] possibility that pieces of this plan, specifically relating to the height of this dam, we can revisit.”

Council’s resolution asks Albemarle supervisors and the water and sewer authority to support the dredging study. The resolution, introduced by Norris, also calls for new incentives to promote water conservation.

Thomas L. Frederick Jr., head of the authority, said he was pleased that councilors reiterated their support for the plan and expects the authority to discuss the dredging study at a future meeting.

Dredging advocates were disappointed that council endorsed the water-supply plan, but took solace in the fact that a dredging study is on the horizon. And that study may ultimately prove, once and for all, that dredging is the best way to go, said Rich Collins, a vocal opponent of the supply plan.

Near the end of Monday’s meeting, Councilor Holly Edwards compared the perpetual water supply debate to a classic lyric from the Eagles’ “Hotel California.”

“You can check out,” she said, “but you can never leave.”