Water task force remains at odds over dredging feasibility study

After spending months examining the pros and cons of dredging the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir, a task force is still split over whether it should recommend officials conduct a dredging feasibility study.

Some in the 13-member group said at a meeting Monday night that it would be irresponsible to rush into a $275,000 dredging feasibility study if dredging isn’t needed to increase long-term water supply. Others said dredging could supplement the long-term water supply plan — providing additional water as a safety net — while upholding the reservoir’s recreational and aesthetic value.

Holly Edwards, a Charlottesville city councilor, said that though she can’t understand “why we can’t let a river be a river” and allow the reservoir to reclaim its original flow and boundaries, a dredging feasibility study is still necessary to determine the cost and feasibility of dredging.

“This is like being in a really bad movie,” Edwards said. “And you all want to end it now without knowing what’s going to happen.”

Dede Smith, who represents Citizens for a Sustainable Water Plan, shared the sentiment.

“We need answers,” she said.

John Martin, a member of the Albemarle County Service Authority’s board, said it doesn’t make sense to spend nearly $300,000 to study dredging now, considering that officials might not choose to dredge until 10 or 15 years from now. Martin said that it wouldn’t make sense to front money unnecessarily, especially during an economic downturn, adding that the information from a dredging study would be outdated a decade from now.

Ridge Schuyler, director of the Nature Conservancy’s Piedmont Program, said an equal amount of attention should be paid to preventing sediment from filling the reservoir in the first place.

In addition, the task force recognized that the reservoir’s recreational value was a key reason why dredging would be beneficial, Schuyler said, adding that it’s important that the group make clear in its report why dredging should be considered.

However, a disposal site for the sediment — a major cost factor of dredging — should be nailed down before making any firm move toward dredging, Schuyler said.

The task force could finalize a report to elected county and city officials this month. Sally H. Thomas, chairwoman of the task force and a member of the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors, said that the report is likely to be five to 10 pages long, with a long list of attachments.

Thomas said she’d incorporate members’ statements into a draft report and then get feedback from the members leading up to the final scheduled task force meeting Dec. 18. Thomas noted that the task force only has to reach a majority decision about what the report should state. Questions that still need to be answered should also be included in the report, she said.