Expand reservoir without delay

John V. Berberich III Charlottesville
Published: April 27, 2008

I think it is shortsighted to think of reservoir expansion at Ragged Mountain and dredging of the Rivanna Reservoir as mutually exclusive issues; they are complementary, but expansion of the reservoir at the source of our supply addresses the long-term needs of our region more responsibly than dredging.

The relief that dredging provides is constantly diminishing because siltation is a constant and our demand for additional water is compounding.
We seem to be recovering from the extended dry spell, but the region did experience a brief test of how a water supply shortage can stress this community.
Another dry year would be very stressful.
Both projects are important, but expanding the Ragged Mountain reservoir must be done now without further procrastination, or this generation will be guilty of bequeathing our successors with a problem we should have handled.