Critics question reservoir panel on its intentions

Several local residents on Monday questioned the purpose of the South Fork Reservoir Task Force, with some suggesting the panel is failing to consider all the options available to meet the area’s long-term water-supply needs.

Kevin Lynch, a former Charlottesville city councilor, suggested the task force was charged with considering the possibility of dredging the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir to increase the available water supply, but is now refusing to do so.

“Who changed the list?” he asked during a public comment session at Monday night’s task force meeting.

“It appears they have come up with their own purpose,” he said later. “I find this whole thing baffling.”

One city resident urged the panel Monday to “save yourself a lot of time and energy” by bringing in some dredging experts instead of “having all these meetings.”

Task force Chairwoman Sally H. Thomas addressed the complaints only briefly, saying the panel was carrying out the charge it had been given.

The 13-member task force is made up of local government officials, environmental advocates, property owners and other stakeholders. The panel was instructed to evaluate whether to dredge and what studies were necessary. At the same time, it was told that the dredging study was “not to be a review of the ‘policy’ or ‘fundamentals’ of the approved and permitted 50-year Water Supply Plan.”

The current plan does not include dredging to increase the water supply. Officials have maintained that dredging alone will not supply enough water to meet the area’s needs for the next five decades.

Critics, however, argue that dredging should be a major component of the plan, and that it could greatly reduce the plan’s estimated costs.

One engineering firm has estimated the cost of a major component of the water plan, a proposed dam at Ragged Mountain Reservoir, at more than $70 million, a figure that does not include all the necessary costs. Another firm said it could save $13.5 million.

Activists argue that the supply plan could cost far more than either estimate.

The Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority is bringing in an independent, outside panel to review the cost estimates.