Louisa Fluvanna James River Water Project
Cumberland Reservoir Project
Chesterfield’s Next Reservoir
From the Governor’s Website: The Secretary of Natural Resources advises the Governor on natural resources issues and works to advance the Governor’s top environmental priorities. The Secretary oversees six agencies that protect and restore the Commonwealth’s natural and historic resources. The Secretary’s office, and all of the natural resources agencies work together to uphold the provisions of Article XI of the Virginia Constitution.
“To the end that the people have clean air, pure water, and the use and enjoyment for recreation of adequate public lands, waters, and other natural resources, it shall be the policy of the Commonwealth to conserve, develop, and utilize its natural resources, its public lands, and its historical sites and buildings. Further, it shall be the Commonwealth's policy to protect its atmosphere, lands, and waters from pollution, impairment, or destruction, for the benefit, enjoyment, and general welfare of the people of the Commonwealth.”
- - Article XI, Constitution of Virginia
Remember when Orange County went dry in 02 and they had to truck in water for farms. There was considerable suffering. They can’t allow that to happen again and they had no source of water other than one little creek. The General Assembly decided that they needed to take stock of Virginia’s Water Resources and ordered a study of Virginia Water Quality and Quantity. Secretary of Natural Resources, Preston Bryant is proud to consider that one of his priorities and a Technical Action Committee has been meeting on storm water issues. What I’m interested in is an inventory of Virginia’s water resources to determine when the water wars begin, as the Department of Defense Study on Climate Changes says will happen, who will win: the corporations or the people-and how can we make this less painful for our families’ futures.
PDF: Governor Warner’s Water Report 03.
From Chesterfield 07: Recent state regulations require that all localities in Virginia complete a Water Supply Plan to estimate the future needs for water within the locality and to develop strategies and alternatives to address these needs. This planning effort may be completed by individual localities or as regional groups. Chesterfield County has chosen to participate in a regional study with the members of the Appomattox River Water Authority, which includes the counties of Chesterfield, Prince George and Dinwiddie, and the cities of Petersburg and Colonial Heights. The plan will include individual projections and alternatives for each locality as well as regional solutions.
Water demand projections through 2060 for all water users within the localities will be compared with existing water resources to determine the adequacy of these resources for meeting future demands. Alternatives will be developed for each locality and the region to bridge any future gaps between demands and resources. Alternatives may include the development of new water resources, utility and government policies to ensure more efficient use of water resources and improved management during drought conditions.
Chesterfield County owns and operates a water system serving the urban areas of the county. The total capacity of the system is 103.5 million gallons per day. The average amount supplied is 37.06 million gallons per day. Water for this system is obtained from the Swift Creek Reservoir, the Appomattox River Water Authority and the City of Richmond. Storage is provided in 21 storage tanks which have a total capacity of 29.65 million gallons. There are 1,657 miles of water lines serving 96,684 customers.
The Addison-Evans Water Production and Laboratory Facility is located on U.S. Route 360. The Swift Creek Reservoir dam impounds 5.2 billion gallons and the treatment plant is capable of treating 12 million gallons per day. Average production at the plant is 7.49 million gallons per day.
The Appomattox River Water Authority, of which Chesterfield County is a member, maintains Lake Chesdin, a 17 mile long impoundment on the Appomattox River. The treatment system has a capacity of 96 million gallons per day and Chesterfield has been allocated 64.5 million gallons per day of the total.
Chesterfield County purchases approximately 16.32 million gallons per day from the Appomattox River Water Authority and 13.25 million gallons per day from the City of Richmond. The City of Richmond has been contracted to supply 27 million gallons per day. The City of Richmond draws its water from the James River. Several industrial operations in the area maintain their own filtration plants using the James River as a supply source.
June RTD: Springston: The Appomattox River Water Authority also plans to build a $120 million reservoir in western Amelia County. The Dawson's Creek Reservoir, a 30-million-gallon-per-day facility, would serve the long-range needs of Petersburg, Colonial Heights and parts of Chesterfield, Prince George and Dinwiddie counties. James C. Dawson, the authority's executive director, said the agency had predicted a need for additional storage by 2035. The reservoir site was the top choice among six explored -- five in Amelia and one in Prince Edward County. If all goes well -- the project is in its early stages -- the reservoir could be on line in seven to eight years, Dawson said. It could last 50 years.
Fluvanna and Louisa (Piedmont Group) took note of the issue and have begun a project to bring water from the James River using an existing Dominion Resources intake system. The James will be their primary sources and their current reservoir will be their second source.
PDF: Louisa Fluvanna James Project
Cumberland County, Henrico, and Powhatan County have also taken steps to gain access to the James River during times of good flow. The following is from DEQ: Cumberland County and its regional partners have made significant process in the development of the Cobbs Creek Reservoir project. A project of this nature must undergo an extensive review and permitting process by the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) as well as other state and federal agencies.
The partners completed and submitted a Joint Permit Application to the USACE and DEQ in April 2005. To provide additional information and analysis for the government agencies, the partners followed this up with an Environmental Assessment (EA) in April 2006. Since the submittal of the Joint Permit Application and the supporting EA, the Cobbs Creek Reservoir partners have been working with representatives of the USACE, DEQ and the other state and federal resource agencies to answer the few remaining additional questions about the project and conduct additional field work and evaluation.
To view the Joint Permit Application submitted to the USACE and DEQ, please click here: http://www.deq.virginia.gov/wetlands/publicnotices.html. (Please note you will be leaving the Cumberland County web site and entering the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality site to view these documents.). Copies of the Environmental Assessment and related addenda may be requested through DEQ as noted on their web site.
Additionally, copies of the Joint Permit Application, Environmental Assessment and related addenda are available for review at:
Cumberland County Public Library
1539 Anderson Highway
Cumberland, VA 23040
(804) 492-5807
Louisa Fluvanna James Project:
This project also provides Fluvanna with the opportunity to minimize its dependence on the Rivanna River and provides redundancy for the Lake Monticello water system.
Approximately 3 million gallons per day (MGD) of drinking water can be provided through the project, and includes growth potential to as much as 6 MGD.
The project is being made possible through a number of partnerships. The pipeline will begin at the James River, drawing water through an existing Dominion Virginia Power Intake structure. Untreated water will flow through an existing East Coast Transport, Inc. (ECTI - a subsidiary of Tenaska) waterline already in place in the southern half of Fluvanna County to a new water treatment plant located in the County’s Pleasant Grove area. From there, the finished (drinking) water lines will traverse the county toward Zion Crossroads, with a tie-in to the Aqua System near Lake Monticello. Three options for the final pipeline’s route at the northern end of Fluvanna are proposed; one of the three routes will ultimately be selected, leading to the connection to the Louisa County Water Authority lines already in place near the intersection of Routes 250 and 15.
The map above depicts the proposed route for the raw water line, the location of the water treatment plant, and proposed routes for the finished (drinking) water lines to the Zion Crossroads area.
Cobb Creek Reservoir, Cumberland:
The need for a water supply has been assessed for communities along the James River including Cumberland, Henrico, and Powhatan counties. After the drought in 2002, the Virginia Assembly in agreement with the Governor, passed legislation which requires the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality to establish regulations that call for the formation of water supply plans for all localities in Virginia. Consistent with these planning efforts, the proposed Cobbs Creek Reservoir Project consists of building a pumped storage facility that supplies 14.8 billion gallons of water storage and is estimated to generate 47 million gallons per day. This water would be sent to the Reservoir from the James River at times when the water levels are sufficient. The Reservoir would serve as a dependable source for future water supply needs in Cumberland as well as Henrico, Goochland, and Powhatan. It would take the strain away from the James River during periods of drought.