Pursue dredging option for water

John Kennedy Brown Charlottesville
Published: April 8, 2008

Recently an informed group of citizens challenged the $142 million water supply plan that local authorities have drafted in recent years. The issues are complex, but the core objection is simple.
Our water plans should start with maintaining the supply we have. We should dredge the South Fork Reservoir before we go off and create a huge dam at Ragged Mountain, lose 130 acres of parkland there, and build an expensive pipeline.
Since the South Fork Reservoir was built in 1966 (by a dam on the Rivanna River), its capacity has shrunk by over one-third, the water displaced by river silt that builds up on the lake bottom.
The silting problem gets worse every year; dredging would remove the sandy mud. The Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority rejects the dredging option, however, favoring new construction of a new dam at Ragged Mountain. They claim dredging is too expensive, although they only got a single estimate — and from an engineering firm that designs dams.
Imagine the debate — be-tween maintenance or new construction — if we were discussing any other form of public infrastructure. If potholes and weak bridges cut the capacity of the US 250 bypass by a third, would we let our leaders ignore the problem and build a new road instead?
If one-third of the classrooms at area high schools could not be used, would we let our leaders abandon the schools and build new expensive new facilities elsewhere, leaving wrecked hulks behind? No way.
Everyone could see rutted roads and dilapidated buildings, but no one sees the silt. Take the Earlysville Road to the airport, cross the reservoir, and you cannot tell if the water is six inches deep or 60 feet. But our future depends on water and it depends on vision.
Local leaders should lead — especially on problems that the public cannot see. Those leaders should demand detailed competitive estimates on dredging before they leave the reservoir to become muck and go ahead with a $142 million project to spend your money.
Both leadership and common sense argue for this elementary step.