"The Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority has obtained a blessing from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality that puts officials a big step closer to implementing Charlottesville and Albemarle County’s long-term water supply solution.

The permit allows for a $142 million plan to construct a new dam and expand the Ragged Mountain Reservoir, while also constructing a new pipeline from another area reservoir to fill it. The plan, however, still needs federal approval from the Army Corps of Engineers, which the RWSA hopes to have by spring.

The water in the Ragged Mountain Reservoir will be raised 45 feet, increasing water storage from 464 million gallons to 2.19 billion, according to the RWSA. Because land would be flooded and lost as part of the reservoir’s expansion, the plan also includes conservation of land around other area streams and the creation of a 4-acre wetlands area.

“We think the milestone achieved this week is … very significant,” said Thomas L. Frederick Jr., the RWSA’s executive director.

Aside from the federal hurdle, the plan also could face local ones. A debate about how the project should be funded between the city and county, as well as whether parts of the plan should be phased over time, is on the horizon.

“I think the community’s patience for agitation from both sides [city and county], it’s waning,” said Jeff Werner of the Piedmont Environmental Council, a group that helped mold the water supply plan. “I think people expect the city and county to be really committed to working together.”

The 50-year water supply plan was a product of years of debate among officials and residents. Environmental-

ists and the community as a whole largely embraced the plan in 2006 when other scenarios - such as piping in water from the James River - were discarded.

Recently, though, some city residents have opposed the plan and said that officials need to look further at dredging the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir, rather than going ahead with an expensive plan in which pristine land will be flooded.

Frederick sees the DEQ’s approval as “a very clear validation that the process that was developed has met and achieved all the state regulatory requirements,” he said.

Werner said the permit is a step forward, but contemplating other aspects of the project before it gets all the necessary approvals is like telling a high school student what classes to take when they’ve only just sent their application off to Stanford University.

“It would appear that we’re moving closer to the date when we do get into Stanford and everyone can breathe a little easier,” Werner said." (Jeremy Borden, The Daily Progress, February 14, 2008)