Task force on dredging inspects silt

A task force toured the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir by boat Friday. As the members floated alongside island-forming sediment, the question pondered was, should the reservoir be dredged?

The 13-person task force — which is made up of local government officials, environmental advocates, property owners and other stakeholders — has been asked to answer that question.

“It’s like the jury going to the scene of the crime,” task force member Dennis S. Rooker said of the tour, designed for members and other officials to explore the state of the reservoir. Rooker is an Albemarle County supervisor.

The water level of the reservoir was lower than usual because of lack of rain. Task force members said that it gave them an opportunity to better see the increase in sediment.

Sediment, which accumulates on the floor of the reservoir, has piled up over the years, which is natural to some extent but has been accelerated by human factors, said task force member Ridge Schuyler of The Nature Conservancy.

During the next four months, the task force will try to determine what would happen in the next 50 years if no maintenance of the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir is performed.

The reservoir supplies drinking water, but the sediment is reducing its capacity.

Dredging is being considered in addition to Charlottesville and Albemarle’s 50-year water supply plan.

The $142.8 million water supply plan entails construction of a dam at the Ragged Mountain Reservoir to increase water storage from 464 million to 2.19 billion gallons. To fill the reservoir to its new capacity, a pipeline from the South Fork Reservoir is to be built.

The first question the task force needs to answer is what purpose the reservoir should serve, Schuyler said. That would play a key role in determining whether dredging is needed and to what extent.

The reservoir provides clean drinking water and the quality of the water isn’t in jeopardy, said Gary W. Fern of the Albemarle County Service Authority.

However, the reservoir has become has less suited for recreation, some officials say.

Kevin Sauer, who coaches the University of Virginia women’s rowing team, gave the tour. He said that he’s had the opportunity to witness the changes to the reservoir for 20 years and that areas that were once 6-feet deep are now 2-feet deep.

The task force’s next meeting will likely be sometime in September, said Sally H. Thomas, the task force chairwoman and a member of the Albemarle Board of Supervisors.