2008-05-06 - Laserfiche WebLink

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NOTICE OF SPECIAL MEETING A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE CHARLOTTESVILLE CITY COUNCIL WILL BE HELD ON Tuesday, May 6, 2008 AT 5:00 p.m.. IN THE “City Space” in the Charlottesville Community Design Center, 100 5th Street, S.E. (downtown mall side of the Market Street Parking Garage, formerly the Visitors Center). THE PROPOSED AGENDA IS AS FOLLOWS: Work Session: Water Supply Plan BY ORDER OF THE MAYOR BY Jeanne Cox CITY SPACE – May 6, 2008 Council met in special session on this date with the following members present: Dr. Brown, Ms. Edwards, Mr. Huja, Mr. Norris, Mr. Taliaferro. Mr. Norris said this work session is a chance for Council to consider a variety of options and get information on the table. He said Council will hold a public hearing on the water supply plan on May 19, and will take a vote on the plan and utilities rates on June 2. Ms. Sally Thomas, Albemarle County Board of Supervisors member, said that the goals of the water supply plan were to keep it within our watershed, provide adequate water, and improve the health of the watershed and flow in the rivers. Mr. Ridge Schuyler, Director of the Piedmont Program for the Nature Conservancy, reviewed how we got to where we are. He said the goal was to meet the water demand and to minimize the impact on the environment and citizens’ pocketbooks. He said the Ragged Mountain Reservoir dam needs to be replaced by 2011, a 13 mile pipe line to the Sugar Hollow Reservoir needs to be replaced, and major silting is occurring in the South Fork of the Rivanna River Reservoir. He said that the State of Virginia recommends that localities have a 50-year plan. He said that in 2005 we started off with 32 alternatives that were then narrowed to five. He said a pipeline to the James River was opposed by a group of citizens as it was not in our watershed. He said dredging the South Fork of the Rivanna River was looked at, but it did not meet the need as the bowl was not big enough and the volumes of sediment were enormous, estimated to fill Scott Stadium to a height of 6‘ every year for 50 years. He said that even if we dredged the South Fork Reservoir, the Ragged Mountain dam would have to be raised to 30’ to meet demand. He said a South Fork Reservoir pipeline was recommended instead of sucking water from the Moormon’s Rivers or James River. He said aging infrastructure needs to be replaced as well as expansion to meet the water needs. He said he thinks the approved water supply plan was a victory for citizens. Mr. Tom Frederick, Executive Director of the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority, said that we had a water capacity of 12.8 million gallons a day (mgd) in 2005, and if we do nothing that will reduce to 8.8 million in 2055. He said that in 2004 four different means were used to project demand. He said a need in 2055 of 18.7 mgd was projected, with a deficit of 9.9 mgd, assuming a 5% reduction of use due to conservation. He said the options for the water supply plan were to look for the least environmentally damaging, practicable alternative that satisfied local goals and regulatory requirements. He said that the approved plan proposes 200 acres of riparian forest, mitigates the risk at I-64, does not prohibit maintenance dredging, and improves the lake habitat. Mr. Kevin Lynch, representing Citizens for a Sustainable Water Supply, said that the current urban demand is 10.4 mgd, and the current safe yield is 12.8 mgd which leaves a 2.4 mgd surplus. He said he thinks the population project is 7% too high, and the conservation target of 5% is too low. He said the overall trend in usage is going down. He said if population estimates are brought in line with VEC projections it reduces the baseline, and if you increase the conservation rate, the demand is reduced to 16.5 in 2055, which reduces the deficit to 7.7 mgd. He said State law only requires a 30