Dredging Task force membership coming together

Holly Edwards will represent Council on the task force

The make-up of the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir Stewardship Task Force is slowly becoming known. City Council has appointed Holly Edwards to represent Charlottesville, and the Board of Supervisors has named Dennis Rooker (Jack Jouett) to represent the interests of Albemarle County. 

The task force was created last month by local officials to examine whether dredging would be conducted to reclaim storage capacity lost to siltation, or for other possible reasons. The group will establish a scope of work to guide an eventual study that will be conducted by a firm hired by the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority.

“The issues before this task force will be, ‘Should we dredge? And if so, why should we dredge?” said Mayor Dave Norris, one of the “four chairs” along with RWSA Chair Mike Gaffney, Albemarle County Services Authority Chair Don Wagner and Albemarle County Board of Supervisors Chair Ken Boyd (Rivanna). Edwards volunteered for the assignment at the City Council meeting on July 7, 2008.  Rooker was approved by the Board at the end of their July 9, 2008 meeting. Supervisor Sally Thomas (Samuel Miller) will also serve on the task force as the representative of the League of Women Voters of Charlottesville/Albemarle. 

In addition to the elected officials, the task force will be made up of one member representing each of the following:

• Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority Board
• Albemarle County Service Authority Board
• Rivanna River Basin Commission / Nature Conversancy
• League of Women Voters
• Ivy Creek Foundation
• Citizens for a Sustainable Water Plan
• Greater Charlottesville Chamber of Commerce
• One citizen representing property owners around South Fork Rivanna Reservoir
• One representative from the University of Virginia as an entity with “recreational interests”

According to Mayor Norris, the task force’s work will begin with a public hearing.  It will conclude with a presentation to local officials.  “The hope is we’ll have a joint meeting of all four bodies, not just the chairman, but a joint meeting in November,” Norris said.

During Council’s July 7 meeting, Councilor Satyendra Huja objected to the County being represented by two people in the form of representatives from the ACSA and the Board of Supervisors. “We ought to have at least equal representation between City and the County, unless the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority Board member happens to be a City member,” Huja said. Brown said that many of the interest groups are made up of both City and County residents, so a balance would have to be struck to ensure equal representation. 

According to the RWSA’s FY09 operating budget, 52% of the RWSA’s water is estimated to be sold to the City, and 48% was sold to the County. ACSA Executive Director Gary Fern said he has calculated that 66 percent of County residents are ACSA customers.

Members of Citizens for a Sustainable Water Plan appeared during Council’s public comment period to request that the Sierra Club send a representative to the meeting. Norris said he would raise the question with the other three chairs. “It’s not that they were excluded, it just hadn’t been brought up,” Norris said.

Some groups have already named their representative. Chamber of Commerce Chairman Christopher Lee will serve as the Chamber’s representative. Ridge Schuyler is believed to be the representative from the Nature Conservancy. Karen Joyner of the Ivy Creek Foundation said her group's appointee
will be announced on Friday. Gary Fern says the ACSA representative will likely be determined at the ACSA Board meeting next Thursday.

Sean Tubbs

Water pipelines may follow routes of old and new roadway proposals; New sewer pump station also in the works

The two men in charge of the authorities that deliver water and sewer services to the urbanized section of Albemarle County gave a brief update to the Board of Supervisors on July 2, 2008. Gary Fern, the Executive Director of the Albemarle County Service Authority, began his presentation by wishing the Board a happy New Year – a happy new Fiscal Year, that is.

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Fern told the Board one of the new initiatives this year is that ACSA customers will be able to pay online. Another is that the ACSA Board and staff will be holding a strategic planning session to map out the future goals of the Authority.

Fern also discussed the ACSA’s Capital Improvement Program. The main project to be built is the North Fork Pump Station, which Fern said would eventually allow the Camelot Wastewater Treatment Plant to be retired.  Preliminary engineering for the North Fork facility, which is expected to be located in the North Pointe development, is scheduled to be completed in September, after which a cost estimate can be made.  “It’s a pretty good size project,” Fern said. “It’s one of the largest [projects] the ACSA has ever undertaken.

Supervisor Dennis Rooker (Jack Jouett) asked if ratepayers would be the sole funders of the multi-million dollar facility. Fern said he has been meeting with developers looking to build in the County’s northern growth area, a process that will continue as the design  of the plant proceeds.  The ACSA has previously said that participants will include the University of Virginia, the Rivanna Station Military Base, and the North Pointe developers.

“We’re now starting to meet with them individually as we learn what their needs are going to be over the next 20 to 40 years,” Fern said. He added that developers will be expected to make contributions above and beyond connection fees, but that the details have not been worked out.  Rooker asked if the need for the station is due to future growth, but Fern responded that the pressing need is to retire Camelot. The ACSA is spending $385,000 in its CIP for this new Fiscal Year to make temporary repairs to Camelot to extend its service life. Fern says Camelot is currently processing 120,000 gallons of wastewater a day.

Supervisor Ann Mallek (White Hall) asked what kind of minutes were being produced by the ACSA for its Board meetings. Fern said at the moment the Authority is producing something in between summary and near-verbatim minutes.  Mallek encouraged the ACSA to use as detailed minutes as possible, given the millions of dollars being spent in the CIP.

Tom Frederick, Executive Director of the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority, began his  report by thanking everyone who has written to him to point out that the RWSA seems to be incredibly busy.  “I appreciate hearing that because from the inside perspective and from the perspective of our employees, we’re really covering a lot of ground right now as an organization,” Frederick said.

Frederick took the same approach as Fern and highlighted several projects that are being initiated under the RWSA’s CIP. First, detailed engineering plans for the new Meadowcreek sewer interceptor replacement  project will be ready within 30 days.  They will then be reviewed by the Department of Environmental Quality, a process Frederick said would likely take up to two months. The right of way process has begun,  and if completed, Frederick said construction on the new interceptor could begin before the end of the calendar year.  Permits have been granted by the Army Corps of Engineers and the Virginia Marine Resources Commission.

The RWSA is also spending a lot of resources on the rehabilitation of sewer infrastructure, a maintenance item Frederick said the community has neglected to do for many years. He added that the cooperation between the RWSA, the ACSA and the City of Charlottesville has far exceeded his expectations.  The RWSA’s efforts are concentrated on the Schenk’s Branch interceptor, which is the oldest in the system.
Another major capital project is the upgrade of the Moores Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant to eliminate nutrients such as nitrogen from the water released into the Rivanna River. Frederick told the Board the project cost estimate is approaching “the upper $40 million range” due to the addition of components to control odors at the facility.

“It’s all related to efforts to continue the enhancement of our rivers in Virginia, especially in the estuary areas where nutrients tend to be of greater concern,” Frederick said.

Frederick shared one idea that has not previously received much public attention.  The RWSA is hoping to connect a new pipe from the North Fork and South Fork Water Treatment plants,  in part because VDOT has asked the RWSA to develop plans to relocate an existing water pipe out from underneath US 29.   The connection would also ensure the northern urban area had redundant sources for treated water.  If an accident or emergency shut down the North Fork facility today, there is no backup water source.

Frederick told the Board the most economical way to build the new connection would be along the right of way that would theoretically extend Berkmar Drive over the Rivanna River up to Hollymead Town Center.  Otherwise, new right of way will have to be acquired parallel to US 29, an alignment that could be difficult given that the topography of the land does not necessarily match the topography of the highway.

“There are so many questions related to that that I asked our staff to stop and let us have some discussion through County staff and others about whether the Berkmar project is going to go through in the near term,” Frederick said.  He added that he needs to know soon what the ultimate plans are for Berkmar. The work could proceed before the bridge is built, according to Frederick, as long as plans were coordinated with VDOT to make sure the two alignments were made at the same grade.

Expansion of the North Fork Water Treatment Plant is not an option because it takes water from the North Fork Rivanna River as opposed to a reservoir, thus creating the potential to more directly impact stream flows.  Frederick said the plant does not need any major repair work, and there is additional capacity to serve the northern urban area – for now.

Supervisor David Slutzky (Rio), a proponent of the Berkmar Drive Bridge, said VDOT officials told him earlier this week that one obstacle to getting the project started is the expense of beginning the preliminary engineering. He asked Frederick if there were any ways of bringing down VDOT’s cost by undertaking that work as a joint effort. Frederick said if there was a green light to proceed, the RWSA would begin by doing preliminary engineering to determine if rock would need to be blasted.

“We certainly would go out of our way to be supportive of working alongside a roadway engineer who is asking and answering the same questions with respect to a roadway,” Frederick said.
Slutzky said he would like to schedule a meeting with VDOT Bridge Engineer David Pierce and Frederick to begin the conversation. Frederick agreed, and estimated the RWSA could complete the preliminary engineering process in three months.

Rooker switched gears and asked Frederick for a cost estimate on the new pipeline to connect the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir with the Ragged Mountain Reservoir.  Frederick said the $55.9 million estimate first provided in 2006 still stands, a figure that assumes parts of the pipeline can be built along the right of way obtained by VDOT to build the Western Bypass, a road project that is on indefinite hold.  Rooker wanted to know if the plan to utilize the right of way was still valid.

“There are people who have thrown out statements that VDOT cannot legally allow the right of way to be used for this kind of thing,” Rooker said. “It would seem to me to be wise to, as soon as legally possible, to initiate discussions with the right people at VDOT about our use of that right of way. If they don’t build the bypass… they may be selling that right of way back, so it would be wise to get the easements in place before that might occur.”

County Executive Bob Tucker said VDOT officials have told him that the right of way “is secure” until 2012. Slutzky asked if any utility easements would survive any future sale of that land back to the original owners. Frederick did not know, but Rooker said that was exactly the kind of question he would want to have answered.

Sean Tubbs & Brian Wheeler

Local leaders define dredging task force membership, charge & timeline

On June 30, 2008, four local officials met to review the responsibilities and membership of a proposed task force to study maintenance dredging at the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir.  Charlottesville City Council was represented by Mayor Dave Norris, the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors was represented by Chairman Ken Boyd, the Albemarle County Service Authority was represented by Chairman Don Wagner, and the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority (RWSA) was represented by its Chairman Mike Gaffney.

The dredging task force is being created as the result of recent resolutions passed by City and County officials as well as action taken by the RWSA to allocate up to $300,000 for a dredging study.

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These four officials reached consensus on the membership of the task force as well as the specific issues to be addressed in its work.  The eleven member task force is expected to meet over the next four months presenting their recommendations to a joint meeting of the four bodies in November 2008.
 
The task force will work in parallel to the RWSA's efforts to qualify a consultant to undertake a future dredging study. A request for qualifications is being released by the authority in July 2008. The recommendations of the task force are expected to shape the final scope of work to be undertaken by a qualified consultant.

(L to R: Mike Gaffney, RWSA; Charlottesville Mayor Dave Norris; Supervisor Ken Boyd; and Don Wagner, ACSA)

Early in the almost one hour meeting, Albemarle County Supervisor Ken Boyd (Rivanna) and Charlottesville Mayor Dave Norris made clear their differing views as to whether the task force recommendations would potentially change elements of the fifty year Community Water Supply Plan. 

“The big question here is whether or not anything coming out of this task force would impact our fifty year plan?” asked Boyd.  “I think I speak for my Board on this… that it should not.  This is in addition to the Ragged Mountain plan and the pipeline plan and that should really be taken off the table [so the task force] does not think we are studying an alternative to that.” Mike Gaffney and Don Wagner expressed their agreement with Boyd. 

Then Mayor Norris outlined the City’s view.  “I may be the loan lone one out here but, I do support, and our Council certainly supports, the fundamentals of the plan, but my feeling has been… that if we end up doing some maintenance dredging [that] is going to free up water supply, I don’t see why we wouldn’t factor that into the equation in terms of how much additional capacity we pay for at Ragged Mountain,” said Norris.  “I don’t see that as a way to undermine the fundamentals of the plan.  I am talking about [seeing] if there is a way to save a few million dollars and a few thousand trees at Ragged Mountain.”

The officials discussed the possible issues that the task force would explore and reached consensus that the first question they should address is "Should we dredge and if so why?"  Two other possible work areas were identified:

• Confirm the list of public resources of the reservoir and define the outcome desired for each resource
• Identify studies desired by the dredging consulting team
• Click here to download complete memo

The task force will have eleven members made up of representatives from local governing bodies, non-profits, and users and property owners at the reservoir.  Each of the following will be asked to nominate a representative to the task force:

1. Charlottesville City Council
2. Albemarle County Board of Supervisors
3. Albemarle County Service Authority
4. Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority
5. One representative from The Nature Conservancy/Rivanna River Basin Commission
6. League of Women Voters
7. Ivy Creek Foundation
8. Citizens for a Sustainable Water Supply Plan
9. Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce
10. One citizen representing property owners around South Fork Rivanna Reservoir
11. One representative from the University of Virginia as an entity with “recreational interests”

As the officials considered how much time to give the task force to make recommendations, the differing perspectives of Norris and Boyd were once again apparent.  “What we don’t want to have happen is anybody to see this as a delaying tactic where by the time this group gets done with their work and the consultant gets done with their work, the train has already left the station on the infrastructure improvements related to the fifty year plan,” said Norris. 

“I think that train has already left the station and should keep moving,” responded Boyd.

“I think it has left the station in terms of the policy, but in terms of actually constructing the dam, thankfully we have got time,” said Norris.  After the meeting, Mayor Norris told Charlottesville Tomorrow that he was satisfied that the work of the task force could be done in a timeframe that could shape decisions about how large a dam to build at Ragged Mountain.

Frederick told the group that the recent resolutions passed by the City and the County gave the RWSA the “green light” to continue with the preparations for the foundation of new Ragged Mountain Dam.  The foundation construction should begin before the end of 2008 and the dam design will be completed in early 2009 with construction bids for the dam being issued in Summer 2009.

Brian Wheeler

TIMELINE FOR PODCAST

• 02:05 – Call to order by RWSA Chairman Mike Gaffney
• 03:25 – Gaffney suggests discussion start with memo on “Consideration of responsibilities of the South Fork Reservoir Task Force.”
• 05:30 – Supervisor Ken Boyd asks how recommendations of task force will relate to work of consultant to be hired by RWSA.  Says that it needs to be clear what task force is being asked to do.
• 07:23 – RWSA Executive Director Tom Frederick describes request for qualifications for dredging consultant to be sent out in early July.
• 08:16 – City Manager Gary O’Connell mentions how work of task force and selection of dredging consultant was expected to happen in parallel.
• 08:53 – Mayor Dave Norris suggests studies of the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir could be done in two phases.  First an immediate bathymetric and soil study followed later by a broader study of maintenance dredging.
• 10:35 – Gaffney opens up discussion of the composition of the task force.  Three options were presented in the memo from Tom Frederick.
• 11:54 – Boyd says he can support a larger task force with various community members and non-profits involved, but encourages specificity on scope of work for the task force.
• 12:10 – Boyd says the work of the task force should not impact fifty year community water supply plan.  Wagner and Gaffney agree.
• 12:32 – Norris expresses interest in factoring dredging results at South Fork into calculation for how much new capacity to build at Ragged Mountain.
• 15:03 – Gaffney opens up discussion on possible issues to be addressed by the task force
• 15:31 – Boyd suggests that an item missing from the list of issues is a determination as to whether dredging is necessary for the water supply plan
• 16:10 – Gaffney and Frederick describe how their studies estimate that the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir could continue to be used as a water supply source, with diminished capacity, even without maintenance dredging.
• 25:11 – Gaffney asks about permits required for dredging operations and whether that will be examined by task force vs. consultants.
• 25:41 – Frederick describes likelihood of getting dredging permits from Virginia DEQ and US Army Corps of Engineers.  Frederick reflects on failure in 2002 to get a permit for a different type of dredging operation.
• 27:40 – Norris restates consensus on issues to be evaluated by task force
• 29:11 – Albemarle County Service Authority Chairman Don Wagner asks who the task for will report to and who will make decisions on their recommendations.
• 31:00 – Boyd recommends that task force have at least one public hearing
• 31:19 – Norris opens of discussion of task force membership.  Eleven representatives were ultimately identified.
• 39:50 – Boyd asks for a specific timeline for the work of the task force.  A four month timeline was selected with a final report to be made in November 2008.
• 41:02 – Norris indicates he wants the task force to have time to inform the specifications of the fifty year water supply plan
• 42:52 – Norris asks Frederick to update the group on the timing of the Ragged Mountain dam design and construction
• 46:07 – Gaffney restates membership of the task force

Pat Enright of Dominion Development on WINA

On the June 23 2008 edition of WINA’s “Charlottesville–Right Now!” Coy Barefoot speaks with Pat Enright, CEO of local developer Dominion Development Resources, LLC (DDR).  Enright discussed two major projects his firm has been involved in recently, the Northtown Center development on behalf of developer Wendell Wood, and the proposed dredging of the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir.

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• Northtown Center approved - Phase I of the Northtown shopping center will contain a bank and other retail. Enright described his job as“really trying to align what the client needs, with what they’re allowed to do, with what the residents are going to be impacted by.”
• Dredging - DDR has proposed that an active quarry 3,000 feet from the reservoir be used as the disposal site for dirt removed from the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir. Enright admits that his company has a financial stake in that piece of land, but argues that this shouldn't prevent citizens and government from looking at the merits of the proposal. Enright estimates the approximate cost of removing the 2 million cubic yards of dirt currently in the reservoir to be between $24-29 million dollars.

Ben Doernberg

RWSA Board approves up to $300,000 for dredging study

In the past month, both the Charlottesville City Council and the Albemarle County Board of supervisors have passed resolutions directing their representatives on the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority (RWSA) to investigate the possibility of dredging the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir. At their monthly meeting on June 23, 2008, the Board voted to authorize up to $300,000 for a study of dredging.  The RWSA will release a request for proposals by July 8, 2008.

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During the public comment period, much of the feedback for the Board was directed towards the possible dredging of the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir which was built in 1966 and is losing about 1% of its capacity annually due to siltation. Before the meeting, Tom Frederick, Executive Director of the RWSA, had prepared a memo for the Board outlining a series of recommendations for initiating a dredging study.

According to Frederick’s memo, “from the context of the [City & County] resolutions themselves, the stated goal is high water quality, and the purpose behind the goal is to enhance the reservoir’s resources to the community.” The memo recommends that the staff of the RWSA issue a request for proposals (RFP) by July 8, 2008 to identify consulting companies with expertise in a number of areas relevant to dredging, including experience in design and implementation of dredging strategies, disposal of removed sediment, and water quality analysis.

Rich Collins, a former Chairman of the RWSA (and member of Advocates for a Sustainable Albemarle Population (ASAP) and Citizens for a Sustainable Water Plan), stated his opinion that Frederick’s memo downplays the issue of water quantity and plays up the issue of water quality. He told the Board he felt the dredging study being proposed by Frederick downplayed the contribution the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir should make to the urban water system’s safe yield. Collins said it was his impression that City Council wanted to find a way to lower the necessary height of the new dam at Ragged Mountain.

Betty Mooney, a member of the Citizens for a Sustainable Water Plan and a critic of the 50-year water supply plan as adopted, began by suggesting to the Board that they reschedule their meetings in order to encourage more citizen participation. The meetings currently occur at 2 PM on Monday, which is during the work day for many citizens who would otherwise attend according to Mooney.  She next presented a petition with over 500 signatures advocating dredging.  “I hope we can trust you to get these surveys done professionally, and as soon as possible, so the water supply strategy can proceed with all the information necessary,” said Mooney.

Kevin Lynch, former City Councilor and a member of the Citizens for a Sustainable Water Plan, advocated a more expedient schedule to study dredging than that laid out by Frederick. Pointing to a draft RFP created by the Piedmont Environmental Council, he argued that setting a date of July 1st for the creation of an RFP for dredging study would be an aggressive schedule, “but certainly not an impossible one.”

Pat Enright, CEO of Dominion Development Resources (DDR) LLC and Earlysville resident, said the first priority of any dredging study should be to find a disposal site for the sediment. He talked about a hypothetical scenario in which expensive analysis determined dredging to be the best option, but the lack of a disposal site for sediment made the study “a waste of money.” Enright has already expressed his firm’s interest in utilizing dredge material to fill an abandoned quarry owned by Dr. Charles Hurt which is near the reservoir.

When it came time for the Board to consider the RFP for the dredging study,
Frederick recommended the Board pursue two parallel courses of action. He suggested that there are two goals of the initial stage of the process: ; identifying the purposes of dredging, and choosing a consulting firm with the requisite experience to help guide the RWSA.  “We’re suggesting that we start on a parallel track but recognize these tracks are going to come together in the coming weeks,” said Frederick.

For the first goal, Frederick proposed a meeting between RWSA Board Chairman Mike Gaffney, Charlottesville Mayor Dave Norris, Albemarle County Board of Supervisors Chairman Ken Boyd, and Albemarle County Service Authority Chairman Don Wagner to determine whether a task force would be an effective way to address the issue, and if so, who should be asked to serve. Frederick said this meeting should occur by July 4, 2008.

For the second goal, Frederick suggested RWSA staff issue an RFP soliciting credentials and ideas from consulting companies, in order to identify the group that will be best able to design an effective dredging strategy. Once a company is chosen, it would be responsible for designing a plan that meets the goals laid out by the task force. Frederick recommended a deadline of July 8th for the issuance of an RFP.

County Executive Bob Tucker asked for a clarification on whether a scope of work would be included in the RFP. Frederick responded that there would be no specific scope of work initially, but that the RFP “would identify the areas of possible study that we need expertise to fill.” Frederick added that he wants to know how consultants would approach the problem, suggesting it was more of a Request for Qualifications rather than a detailed RFP. Tucker asked if the task force would help develop the RFP, and Frederick said yes. “We’re anticipating the task force will help us define why we are performing the study,” Frederick said. The Board, after only a brief discussion, voted unanimously authorize the expenditure of up to $300,000 for the study and RFP process.

OTHER BUSINESS and PUBLIC COMMENT

In other business, Frederick briefed the Board and the public on the status of area reservoirs. He explained that as of mid-June, the Charlottesville area had been dropped from the National Drought Mitigation Center’s list of areas in drought condition, and that the likelihood of a severe drought in 2008 was “very small.” Citing the unpredictably of the weather, Frederick closed his statement by reminding those in attendance that regardless of the current year’s water situation, it was always important to focus on water conservation.

Landowner John Via, who sold some of the land that was originally slated for construction of the proposed Buck Mountain Reservoir, was the first to speak during the public comment portion of the meeting. The Buck Mountain Reservoir plan had to be tabled, in part, when the James River spiny mussel, an endangered species, was found in the area.  Via asked the RWSA Board to sell back the land, rather than use it as part of the mitigation plan for the expansion of the Ragged Mountain Reservoir.
“It shouldn’t be used for other purposes other than what it was bought for,” Via said.
County Supervisor Sally Thomas (Samuel Miller), speaking as a member of the Rivanna River Basin Commission (RRBC), asked Frederick and the Board to undertake an effort to encourage rainwater harvesting, and provide a standard set of procedures for builders wishing to implement such systems on their property. She expressed a desire for a joint meeting between the RWSA and the RRBC to discuss the topic further.

WASTEWATER TREATMENT

The RWSA also directed a consultant to evaluate a new design for the proposed upgrade to the Moores Creek Wastewater Treatment plant, which, if approved, would add an extra $2 million to the approximately $40 million budget for the project.

State water regulations passed in 2005 require water treatment facilities to reduce nitrogen levels to 6 milligrams per liter (mg/L) or lower, with an incentive program allowing facilities with lower nitrogen levels to sell credits to other facilities and jurisdictions who are unable to meet the regulation.

Hazen and Sawyer, an engineering firm hired by the RWSA to design the upgraded plant, had estimated the current nitrogen levels at 25 (mg/L). The firm recommended the RWSA aim to reduce levels to 5 mg/L and increase revenue by selling credits. Unfortunately, further study authorized by the RWSA in January has revealed that the current nitrogen levels are approximately 30 mg/L, and the treatment methods as designed would not be able to reduce 30 mg/L to even the 6 mg/L required by law.

Hazen and Sawyer presented three design alternatives. Option 1 would cost $108,000 and would add extra filtering capacity with six tertiary filters to bring nitrogen levels down to 6 mg/L. Option 2 would build an additional aeration basins at a cost of $3.4 million. Option 3 would add 2 more tertiary filters, and bring nitrogen levels down to 5 mg/L as originally planned, allowing the RWSA to earn between $50,000 and $75,000 a year through the sale of credits. This option would cost $2 million.

Frederick recommended Option 3 in part because it would qualify for funding from the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)’s Water Quality Improvement Fund, which would reimburse the RWSA for 60% of the total $2 million bill as long as it did not go significantly above budget. He also said the extra filters would be consistent with a planned expansion of the Moores Creek facility by 2022.

Frederick also said DEQ’s water quality regulations continue to evolve, and the state could create more stringent requirements at a later date. Frederick did admit that there was no way to determine what future limits could be enacted, and another member of staff answered a question from Gary O’Connell by identifying California and Florida as states with requirements of fewer than 1 mg/L.

The RWSA voted unanimously to allocate approximately $82,000 for Hazen and Sawyer to revise their design, $49,200 of which will be reimbursed by the DEQ. The Board reserved the right to review the changes, and decide on a final course of action after there was a clearer indication of how close the total cost would come to the estimate of $2 million.

Watch the video:

TIMELINE FOR PODCAST:

• 1:49 - Report from RWSA Executive Director Tom Frederick
• 5:21 - Public hearing comment from landowner John Via, who sold land to the RWSA for the once-planned Bucks Mountain Reservoir"
• 6:00 - Public hearing comment from Rich Collins
• 9:44 - Public hearing comment from Hawes Spencer, who asked why the RWSA Board has not taken a look at the alternative plan suggested by Kevin Lynch and other members of Citizens for a Sustainable Water Plan
• 10:44 - Public hearing comment from Supervisor Sally Thomas (Samuel Miller), who serves as chair of the Rivanna River Basin
• 12:56 - Public hearing comment from Betty Mooney of Citizens for a Sustainable Water Plan
• 16:30 - Public hearing comment from Kevin Lynch Betty of Citizens for a Sustainable Water
• 20:42 - Public hearing comment from Pat Enright of Dominion Development Resources LLC
• 22:50 - RWSA considers and approves consent agenda
• 23:30 - RWSA officials receive 2007 Excellence in Granular Media Filter Water Treatment Plant Performance, Bronze Award
• 24:30 - RWSA receives an update from Tom Frederick on the Moores Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant upgrade
• 45:16 - RWSA considers the RFP for maintenance dredging of the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir

Ben Doernberg

Frederick outlines potential paths for dredging study

In the past month, the Charlottesville City Council and the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors have both passed resolutions directing their representatives on the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority to study the possibility of dredging the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir to both boost storage capacity as well as to maintain its long-term health for the community water supply.

Council’s direction to study dredging was incorporated in a resolution passed June 2, 2008 that reaffirmed their commitment to the Community Water Supply Plan adopted in June 2006. The Board passed their resolution as part of their consent agenda at their meeting on June 11, 2008.

Tom Frederick

The Executive Director of the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority has issued a memo asking for more guidance on how to proceed. Tom Frederick wrote to his Board to point out that he had heard some in the community asking for the study to proceed immediately, while others have said they want a task force to explore the reasons for dredging.

“We believe both interests can presently be served by initiating a request for proposals,” Frederick writes in the memo, which is dated June 23, 2008. To achieve that, Frederick said his staff is preparing a Request for Proposals for the study, and bids would be due by August. Frederick said the RWSA could try to select a consultant by late August, but that September would be more likely.

Frederick went on to say that if the community wants to create a task force, a meeting should be held between the chairs of the four government bodies that have jurisdiction over water supply issues. That would be Mayor Dave Norris, County Supervisor Ken Boyd (Rivanna), Michael Gaffney of the RWSA Board, and Don Wagner of the Albemarle County Service Authority. Frederick would like this meeting to occur before July 4.

Frederick said the successful consultant would have “significant experience in the design as well as operations of dredging” and would be knowledgeable in the relationship between sedimentation and water quality. The study could take many forms, including bathymetric studies of the reservoir, examinations of the type of sediment that would be uncovered, as well as market studies to determine the worth of dredged material.  Frederick wrote the successful consultant could also comment on ways to reduce the influx of sediment into the reservoir.

Frederick concluded that the RWSA could expend $300,000 from a reserve fund for watershed protection and will seek direction from the RWSA Board and the public at its meeting on Monday, June 23, 2008. Charlottesville Tomorrow will provide the full audio of the event Monday evening.

Sean Tubbs

Council approves utility rate increases

The Charlottesville City Council has voted on rate increases for the City’s gas, water and sewer utilities. While Council had little debate over the increases on ratepayers at its June 2, 2008 meeting, they did express concerns over the higher connection fees that would be charged for new development. A typical connection fee will rise from $1,600 for both water and sewer to more than $6,000.

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“I actually had three or four developers  in my office last week…and there was one building something on the Mall that was a little upset that  [the connection fee] was going up because he had already built it into his cost, and this was not a part of his cost,” said Bernard Wray, the City’s Finance Director.

Finance Director Bernard Wray addresses Council

The City Attorney’s office offered up an amendment that would grandfather in the existing rates for developers who already have building permits issued before June 16, 2008. Council voted 5-0 to adopt the amendment.

Council had asked to know if the higher connection fees would affect affordable housing projects.  Wray said he needed more information on what “affordable” meant, and Neighborhood Development Services staff will be working on a  definition to present to Council at a meeting in July. In general, Wray said one potential strategy would be to charge lower connection fees for projects that qualify as affordable, rather than reimburse developers from the affordable housing trust fund created by Council last year.

Wray also presented further information about how the higher connection fees will keep utility rates down over the next few years as millions of dollars are spent on maintenance and capacity expansion for the City’s water and sewer systems

Wray also said he also looked at ways to cut expenses in the utilities department.  For example, he told Council he had considered eliminating a $100,000 planned renovation of the Public Works building’s lobby to create a centralized customer service desk. Eliminating that project could reduce this year’s rate increase by an average of 22 cents a month, but Wray said he recommended putting that money into a rate stabilization fund to keep next year’s rates down. Council agreed with the latter strategy and voted 5-0 to adopt the new ordinance, and the new rates will take effect July 1, 2008.

Sean Tubbs

Supervisors to vote on dredging and water conservation resolution

The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors have agreed to place a resolution on their June 11, 2008 consent agenda which, if approved, would direct the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority (RWSA) to investigate the “viability and merits” of dredging the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir and to increase the County’s water conservation efforts. The text of the resolution is virtually identical to the two amendments added by Mayor Dave Norris to the City Council resolution approved on Monday reaffirming Council’s support for the 50-year Community Water Supply Plan.

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Supervisor Sally Thomas (Samuel Miller) corresponded with members of City Council and Mayor Norris after the June 2, 2008 City Council meeting, thanking them for their work on the water supply and detailing her hopes for a joint effort between the Board and the Council. During the “other business” portion of the Supervisors’ June 4, 2008 meeting, Thomas proposed to the Board that they partner with the City and others to discuss the prospect of dredging South Fork Reservoir. She felt that before RWSA investigated the “how” of dredging, the community first needed to fully explore the “why.”

“First you have to figure out why you’re doing any dredging, and I don’t think our community has done that, we’re a long ways from having done that yet,” said Thomas.  She pointed out that there are a wide range of uses for the South Fork reservoir, including recreation and education, and proposed the creation of a visioning group that would meet 2-3 times to ensure that all these uses were being taken into account.

Supervisor Dennis Rooker (Jack Jouett) was not sure that the visioning process advocated by Thomas would be effective at coming up with a financially viable solution, and suggested that they pass a resolution aligning the Board with the City Council on the dredging request and conservation efforts. Supervisor David Slutzky (Rio) expressed concern about the visioning process, imagining that “a former city councilor might, for example, raise the idea that the reason for doing this is so we can interdict the process of implementing the [existing] water plan,” and proposed that instead the Board reach out to City Council on the dredging issue, independent of the implementation of the Community Water Supply Plan.

Thomas disagreed, saying, “Well I’m not sure I want to dredge at all…I think we need to have a community discussion about that…is dredging at any part necessary in order to keep it at as a robust part of our water system?”  Slutzky responded “I think it is; if it eventually silts in…”

“There’s a lot of time between now and eventually,” said Thomas.  “If we’re going to spend even as little as $23 million dollars, we ought to be far more clear about what we’re doing and why.”

The issue of who would pay for the dredging if it occurred also came up, with Thomas asking, “Do you really want the water rate users paying for it if it’s the rowing club that’s the main driver, and the neighbors?” Rooker stated his opinion that, “it would be ridiculous to dredge and not obtain some additional capacity while you’re doing it.”  Rooker said the cost of dredging “should be something that is included within the rate structure because it’s today a part of the water supply plan that we have, and if we increase its capacity, it’s still part of the water supply plan.”

At the urging of Chairman Ken Boyd (Rivanna) the Supervisors adopted Rooker’s proposal and placed “a resolution supporting a study of maintenance dredging of the South Fork Rivanna reservoir and efforts to promote water conservation” on the next meeting’s agenda.

Ben Doernberg

Council considers FY2009 water and sewer rates; questions higher connection fees

Every year, the Charlottesville City Council sets the rates for gas, water and sewer services provided by the City’s Department of Utilities.  The rates are calculated based on a study put together by outside consultants. The study for FY2009 was put together by Draper-Aden and Associates, and the City’s rates are calculates after the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority sets their wholesale rates to the City and the Albemarle County Service Authority.  In May, the RWSA approved rate increases for the City of 2.7% for water and 10.4% for wastewater.

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Hence, the City is proposing raising rates accordingly. The City has two separate schedules for water rates. From May through September, the rate would increase from $45.57 to $48.17 per 1,000 cubic feet. From October through April, the rate would increase from $35.05 to $37.06 per 1,000 cubic feet. The City is proposing sewer rates be raised from $35.20 to $38.57.

Source: City of Charlottesville

To put that into perspective, City Finance Director Bernard Wray said the average residential customer would see their rates go up by 5%, or $1.72 per month, based on usage of 5,800 gallons per month. In comparison, Wray said Albemarle County residents on public water will see their rates go up an average of 12.9%. 

The average retail customer, who uses about 7,500 gallons a month, would see their bills rise an average of 5.1%, or $2.26 a month.

Wray said the water rate increases are due to three reasons. First, the City is selling less water because of efforts to conserve water, which means the City has to charge more to break even. Second, the City is spending more money on operations. The third reason is the rate increase made by the RWSA.

The average City resident will see wastewater rates increase by 8.3%, and Wray said this was due to the RWSA increases as well as increased operating costs. That translates to average bill increase of $2.57 a month for the average residential customer, and a $3.37 increase for the average retail customer.

The City is also proposing drastically increasing the fees required for new connections to the water and sewer system.  Wray said the City has traditionally charged low fees for new homes and businesses.

“Existing customers actually benefit from this change because the capital cost has shifted to new development,” Wray said. Currently, connecting a new home to both water and sewer lines would cost $1600, or $800 each. That will rise to about $6,000 under the new scheme, which Wray said is more in line with other communities. Not increasing these feeds would put more of the burden on ratepayers.

The sewer charge without these fees in next year’s rates would go up 18%,” Wray said. “By imposing these rates it will go up 9%.”

These connection fees would also be levied on a tiered basis. The larger the connection required, the higher the fee. That would mean a developer requesting connections for an equivalent of 50 residential units (such as a large retail store) would need to pay over $280,000. Currently that developer would pay $1,600, same as a residential customer.

The discussion on rates came during the first reading of an ordinance to place the changes into City Code, which meant a public hearing was required. Most speakers during the public hearing took the chance to speak out against the reaffirmation of the Community Water Supply Plan that Council had decided earlier in the meeting.  Many objected to paying higher water rates to support the plan. Dede Smith said the RWSA has already been charging higher rates since 2002 in order to pay for extra capacity.

“It ends up basically being a tax on water above and beyond what they need to actually deliver water,” Smith said. Former City Councilor Kevin Lynch put the figure at about $30 million in cash, and said the RWSA was misleading the public by using that money  to make it seem that the $142 million 50-year community water supply plan won’t affect ratepayers.

“Gary O’Connell and other members of the [RWSA] Board have been in meetings where they’ve discussed…  how much does the rate have to go up every year to pay for this,” Lynch said. “Five percent a year for thirteen years… The reason for that is that once you spend that $30 million that you have bankrolled, it’s gone. You may be able to get a dam, but then you’ve got a pipeline that has to be built.”
Charlottesville architect and builder Bob Pineo raised the concern that the new connection fees would be a shock to the development community.

“The incremental change from something to ten-fold is going to have some really deep repercussions in the housing industry because it’s going to be that much harder to build a house and to sell it in a depressed market,” Pineo said.

Keith Rosenfeld, also of Citizens for a Sustainable Water Plan, said he had a conversation with RWSA Executive Director Tom Frederick about the amount of leakage in the urban water system.

“Our local system leaks 15 to 17 percent of the water going through it, whereas most cities are 10% and below,” Rosenfeld said. “That’s kind of interesting when you look at what our water needs are and the baseline we’ve established for today.

After the public hearing, Councilor David Brown remarked that in the five years he’s been voting on water rates, he’s never received as much public input as he has this year.

Councilor Satyendra Huja wanted more information on the connection fees, and asked if the higher fees would jeopardize Council’s efforts to provide more affordable housing in the City. Councilor Julian Taliaferro said the increases are a big jump and he was concerned. Wray had an explanation.

“The way we looked at it is that our current ratepayers are paying for something maybe they shouldn’t be paying for,” Wray said. “Maybe the new developers should be paying for utilizing the system that our ratepayers have been paying for many years.”

Taliaferro agreed with that philosophy, but said he would prefer to see a gradual introduction of the higher connection fees.  Huja also said the fees should be raised, but said the magnitude was too sudden.  He suggested cutting the connection fees in half for now.

Wray said his staff had looked into how other jurisdictions in Virginia had handled waiver programs for affordable housing projects, and said he would come back with a list of recommendations before the next reading of the utility rate ordinance.

Councilor David Brown said more needed to be done to encourage low-income houses to fit their homes with low-flow toilets and other water saving measures. Councilor Holly Edwards called for a work session to discuss “the high cost of living poor” at which utility rates would be a topic.

Mayor Dave Norris asked City Public Works Director Judy Mueller to explain what proportion of the RWSA’s water and sewer upgrades City residents can expect to pay in comparison to County residents. She said she will work with the Albemarle County Service Authority to differentiate between capital projects for maintenance and those for new capacity.

“Then we will take those sections that are adding new capacity and will come to [Council] with a recommendation of how much of the new capacity the City system, including U.Va, will want for the future and how much of that capacity the ACSA wants for its growth,” Mueller said. “It’s an attempt to say if you’re already in the system you’ll be paying for the maintenance part of it but you’ll only pay for the part of growth the City feels it needs.”

The second reading of the utility rate ordinance will be held at Council’s next regular meeting on June 16, 2008.

TIMELINE FOR PODCAST:

• 1:00 - Introduction by Mayor Dave Norris, and City Finance Director Bernard Wray
• 7:12 - Councilor Huja asks if the new connection fees relate to the current year's budget
• 8:00 - Councilor Taliaferro asks for more information on the relationship between increased conservation and increase rates
• 9:00 - Councilor Huja points out the new connection fees are a significant change
• 11:18 - Public hearing comment from Betty Mooney who is opposed to higher rates because of her opposition to the Community Water Supply Plan
• 14:33 - Public hearing comment from Colette Hall, who says she is opposed to higher rates to support the Moormans river, which will be restored to full flow as a result of the implementation of the community water supply plan
• 16:11 - Public hearing comment from former City Councilor Kendra Hamilton, who says she can't currently afford the higher rates
• 19:14 - Public hearing comment from Dede Smith on the amount of money RWSA is stockpiling
• 22:41 - Public hearing comment from Mark Cabot
• 23:30 - Public hearing comment from former City Councilor Kevin Lynch
• 27:27 - Public hearing comment from Jeff Werner of the Piedmont Environmental Council
• 30:40 - Public hearing comment from Joe Mooney of Citizens for a Sustainable Water Plan
• 34:14 - Public hearing comment from Leslie Middleton, a supporter of the adopted and reaffirmed plan
• 36:50 - Public hearing comment from Naomi Roberts, who is concerned about being able to afford higher water rates
• 38:48 - Public hearing comment from local builder and architect Bob Pineo, who is concerned about higher connection fees
• 41:01 - Public hearing comment from Keith Rosenfeld
• 42:20 - Public hearing closes, and Council discussion begins with comment from Councilor David Brown
• 44:40 - Councilor Huja has follow-up questions for Bernard Wray on connection fees, leading to discussion on whether they should be introduced in a gradual fashion
• 56:36 - Mayor Dave Brown asks what percentage City residents will pay compared to County residents for infrastructure upgrades to the RWSA water and sewer system
  

Sean Tubbs

Federal agency grants permit for new dam and pipeline

An image taken from the RWSA's permit application for the Community Water Supply Plan (Source: RWSA)

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has issued a permit authorizing the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority to construct a new dam at the Ragged Mountain Reservoir, a key component of the adopted 50-year community water supply plan. The permit clears the way for a new dam that would expand the capacity of the reservoir from 464 million gallons to 2.19 billion gallons.

The RWSA received the permit one day after the Charlottesville City Council voted to reaffirm their support for the plan, with an amendment directing the RWSA to undertake a sedimentation and feasibility study to dredge the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir. The state Department of Environmental Quality issued its permit in February.

According to a media release from the RWSA, any plan that alters the flow of a navigable waterway must be deemed as the “least environmentally damaging, practicable alternative.” Prior to the community water supply plan’s adoption in June 2006 by the City Council and the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors, dozens of alternatives were evaluated, including a pipeline from the James River. The RWSA’s mitigation plan includes placing 14.2 miles of streams along Buck Mountain Creek into buffered conservation areas, as well as the creation of 4 acres of wetlands near the RWSA’s wastewater treatment plant in the City of Charlottesville.

Tom Frederick, Executive Director of the RWSA, told Charlottesville Tomorrow that consultant Gannett Fleming is already working on the design of the new dam, with the hopes of submitting the design to the state Department of Conservation Resources by November. A new pipeline to connect the Ragged Mountain Reservoir with the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir has not been designed, but has been approved as part of the Army Corps of Engineer’s permit.

“Other elements of the plan will be scheduled at a later time, maybe years away,” Frederick said. He said the RWSA’s permit application, filed two years ago, contained environmental studies that satisfied the federal agency.

An image from the RWSA's permit application depicting the pipeline that will connect the South Fork and Ragged Mountain reservoirs (Source: RWSA)

Frederick said that a sedimentation and feasibility study to dredge the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir will be conducted “in the near-term” subject to approval by the RWSA board, but added that he considers dredging to be a parallel process separate from implementation of the community water supply. At least one City Councilor, Mayor Dave Norris, expressed the hope that the study would show dredging could restore at least some capacity to South Fork, which loses 1% each year. Norris said that could mean a smaller dam at Ragged Mountain would fulfill the community’s water supply needs.

“We need to try to avoid trying to interpret the outcome before we’ve done the study,” Frederick said. “I can tell you that in the minds of the permitting agencies, they understand that their permit approval is based on the application we filed – and the application we filed was to raise the [water level] 45 feet.”

Frederick said that the RWSA’s approved Capital Improvement Program budget anticipates full construction of the $37 million dam, as does the ongoing design work. But, he said that if he gets direction from the RWSA Board to proceed with a smaller dam, the RWSA would contact the consultant to alter the design work. He added that the permitting process requires regular reporting to both the DEQ and the Army Corps of Engineers on the progress of implementation and design work.

Sean Tubbs