Authority a step closer to dredging study

The Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority Board of Directors has moved one step closer toward fully endorsing a dredging study on the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir.

The board agreed Monday to have one representative each from four local bodies — the Charlottesville City Council, the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors, the Albemarle County Service Authority and the RWSA — convene early next month to discuss the formation of a task force. The task force’s primary responsibility would be to examine the purposes and benefits of maintaining the reservoir, authority Executive Director Thomas L. Frederick Jr. said.

The task force will “help develop the scope of the dredging study,” Frederick said.

The meeting, which is set to be held before July 4, will mostly serve to gauge the four bodies’ desire to create such a task force, and if so, who would be appointed to it.

Albemarle and Charlottesville officials already have approved the $142.8 million long-term water supply plan that would entail construction of a dam at the Ragged Mountain Reservoir.

To fill the reservoir to its new capacity, increasing storage capacity from 464 million to 2.19 billion gallons by increasing water levels 45 feet, a pipeline from the South Fork Reservoir would be built and 180 acres of forest would be submerged. Virginia’s Depart-ment of Environmental Quality and federal regulators have endorsed parts of the plan but federal officials still need to grant approval.

Both the city and county have said a separate study on the South Fork Reservoir needs to be completed, but most believe the study will not affect the 50-year plan. Advocates of dredging the silt-filled reservoir say it could have many possible benefits, including improving and boosting the water supply, increasing recreational opportunities and improving the area for indigenous fish, wildlife and plants.

Proponents implored the board Monday to move as quickly as possible to get the study under way. Resident Betty Mooney echoed the notion of popular support, saying she had a petition with 500 signatures in favor of the study.

“We hope we can trust you to get these surveys done professionally so the water supply strategy can proceed,” Mooney said.

Former Councilor Kevin Lynch, who initially supported the plan, said dredging has been the most popular alternative since the first community water supply meeting was held in September 2004.

“Hands down, the dredging option had the most support,” Lynch said.

To move forward, Frederick said, external consulting firms are being solicited for potential hire to administer the dredging study.

The request proposals will be drafted by July 8 and consultants will have to respond by early August with their qualifications. A company likely will be contracted in September.

An outside company this spring said a dredging study would cost $275,000. The water and sewer authority has set aside $300,000 for the analysis, but Frederick said no funds will be spent until an outside consultant is selected and the study’s scope is resolved. Additionally, the meeting to discuss the task force may be open to the public, but that has not yet been determined.