A task force toured the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir by boat Friday.

A 13-member task force convened to ponder the future of the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir met Tuesday to take its first step toward understanding the impact of dredging the silt-filled reservoir that supplies drinking water to Charlottesville and Albemarle County.

After months of community squabbling over the merits and feasibility of dredging the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir, the process of settling that rancorous debate is about to begin.

On Monday, the Charlottesville City Council unanimously backed the $142 million plan that would build a new dam at Ragged Mountain and a pipeline to fill it, providing increased storage from 464 million gallons to 2.19 billion. On Tuesday, the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority received a blessing from the federal U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, allowing officials to move forward.

Critics of Charlottesville and Albemarle County’s long-term water supply plan have laid out specific proposals they believe will get the community more bang for its buck — both in terms of its pocketbook and the environment.

The “war of statistics” over the community’s 50-year water supply that has raged for months on Internet forums, in newspaper articles and at community meetings moved to a new battlefield Monday night: City Hall.

Some Charlottesville city councilors on Tuesday signaled a willingness to reconsider dredging the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir after hearing complaints about the area’s $142 million long-term water supply plan.

Momentum appears to be gaining for local leaders to reconsider Charlottesville and Albemarle County’s long-term water supply plan.