Water/Sewer Rates INCREASED , While Task Force ignores dredging
May 14, 2008
Regardless of whom you are owner, renter, socioeconomic level, employed, or student the water/sewer rates increased and you will be paying more. Water/sewer treatment centers are/will undergo renovation.
The RWSA’s 50 Year Water Supply Plan proposal will have huge implications for our community. All city residents and those in the urban county will see drastically increased water/sewer bills for years to come, far into the future.
Whatever plan is chosen to provide enough water for 50 years, the money for that must be in any plan that our elected officials approve. The money will also go toward sewer infrastructure and water/sewer treatment center renovations.
At the first meeting of the joint Task Force considering uses of the Southfork Reservoir, dredging was the elephant in the room that was ignored. Yet, dredging could save millions of taxpayers dollars, serve to lengthen the life of the Southfork, continue to provide potable water and insure continued recreational uses.
“Clearly there have been major changes to the Water Supply Alternative since September which the elected officials have responded to.
1. The dam has escalated in price from $37.2 million to a minimum of $85 million and more likely over $100 million
2. A major portion of the pipe-line route is not viable and so there is neither a route, design or cost assumption of any kind available for this necessary component of the 50 year plan.
3. There has been a collapse of the world’s financial markets putting the economy in a tailspin, bringing about ever increasing deficits in the national, state and local budgets, and creating the need to re-examine all local expenditures including education.
Regardless of whom you are owner, renter, socioeconomic level, employed, or student the water/sewer rates increased and you will be paying more. Water/sewer treatment centers are/will undergo renovation.
The RWSA’s 50 Year Water Supply Plan proposal will have huge implications for our community. All city residents and those in the urban county will see drastically increased water/sewer bills for years to come, far into the future.
Whatever plan is chosen to provide enough water for 50 years, the money for that must be in any plan that our elected officials approve. The money will also go toward sewer infrastructure and water/sewer treatment center renovations.
At the first meeting of the joint Task Force considering uses of the Southfork Reservoir, dredging was the elephant in the room that was ignored. Yet, dredging could save millions of taxpayers dollars, serve to lengthen the life of the Southfork, continue to provide potable water and insure continued recreational uses.
“Clearly there have been major changes to the Water Supply Alternative since September which the elected officials have responded to.
1. The dam has escalated in price from $37.2 million to a minimum of $85 million and more likely over $100 million
2. A major portion of the pipe-line route is not viable and so there is neither a route, design or cost assumption of any kind available for this necessary component of the 50 year plan.
3. There has been a collapse of the world’s financial markets putting the economy in a tailspin, bringing about ever increasing deficits in the national, state and local budgets, and creating the need to re-examine all local expenditures including education.
At the last RWSA Board meeting we learned of the increased dam estimate, and those who read the memo from Gannett Fleming learned of their recommendation calling for the board to re-visit all four previous alternatives including dredging. Albemarle County Supervisor Dennis Rooker made this comment on Sept 29th to the Hook
“I’d like to see hard numbers on the costs of the various components. I would not like to find out that the pipeline costs twice as much after we’ve already built the dam.”
On October 6th City Councilors made the following comments at their monthly council meeting concerning the recent revelations about the Dam and Pipeline Water Supply Alternative:
Mr. Huja: “Things have changed. We need to have further review of the plan. Decisions made about this plan have to be looked at in light of new facts”
Mr. Taliaferro: “With the ever changing price tag of the water plan it does tend to, for lack of a better term, shake your confidence in what has taken place with the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority
Mr. Brown: “I’m also concerned about the costs of the dam. I want to make sure as we look at the costs of the pipeline we need to make sure that enough work goes into looking at the costs of the pipeline that we don’t find ourselves in the position that Dennis Rooker is mentioning, so I think we do need to get more information on what those costs are specifically….the increased costs bring into question whether dredging could be a partial solution
Mr. Norris: “What’s become clear is that we need better information and better numbers on all the components of the water supply both the adopted plan and the alternative plan and my belief and hope is that this process to bring outside neutral third party experts to review the dam can be broadened to be a comprehensive assessment of all components of the proposed and alternative water supply scenarios and help us determine what the best plan, best strategy for meeting our goals and most cost effective and in an environmentally friendly manner would be
The day following the hearing on Oct. 7th, Mr. Norris sent an e-mail to the Hook saying “I strongly agree that better numbers are needed for all components”
And in an e-mail to me on Oct. 7th Mr. Norris wrote “I met with Gary and he is on board with the idea of costing out all options” “
Betty Mooney
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