Water Issues Meeting Summary

November 17, 2016

Members of the FB Powhatan Ad Hoc Committee met with Russ Aaronson (GrayCo), Casey Sowers (Riverton Associates), Jesse Royall (Sydnor Hydro) and 2 residents from the Bel Crest / Bridge community on Thursday afternoon at Independence Golf Club. The purpose of the meeting was to find common ground that would lead to solutions of the water capacity issues facing our communities.

Defer BOS Vote for 90 Days

One of our first goalswas to get support in asking the Powhatan Board of Supervisors (BOS) to DEFER any action on the acquisition of the FBUC for 90 days. I’m pleased to report GrayCo had already contacted the Powhatan County Administrator and requested a 90-day deferral. Riverton Associates supported this action and the Ad Hoc Committee will immediately be in contact with County Administration to request the same deferral. It is the desire of all parties to ensure transparency in this proposal so every resident may have the time to understand the particulars of the transaction before the BOS takes a vote.

Non-Potable Irrigation

After the Nov. 10th Community Meeting at Independence, GrayCo, at their expense, commissioned Bowman Consulting to develop an engineering solutionthat would find non-potable water alternatives for irrigating the 76 FB Powhatan homes. Work began on this study the day after our Community Meeting and is progressing with feasibility, cost and impact results expected shortly.

Route 60 Waterworks Capacity

All parties support measures that would secure a relatively small portion of the 572K-gallon per day allocation that has been secured from Chesterfield County for Powhatan’s Route 60 West Development. This solution has political implications and efforts are underway to contact appropriate officials from both county governments to seek their support. This would be the most effective solution, as it would eliminate the need for treated well water.

Discussion of Powhatan County’s Acquisition of FBUC

Pros and Cons of the FBUC being acquired by Powhatan County were discussed. Whichever way it turns out, the Ad Hoc Committee agrees that at some point FB Powhatan residents will see an increase in water rates. Should the county acquire FBUC, the rates will need to match current Powhatan County rates even if a 2 tier structure is allowed, meaning one for FB and another for the Route 60 customers.

Should Sydnor Hydro buy FBUC, they will need at some point to request a rate increase from the State Corporation Commission (SCC) to recover their costs of doing business. Points to consider:

When served by a public utility, water users can hold officials responsible for poor quality of water service & failure to address their concerns
Having to stand for re-election incentivizes politicians to remain responsive to residents’ concerns
Private companies may refuse to promote water conservation and grow profits by selling more water, not less. Their first responsibility is to act in the best interest of shareholders

The committee feels the county’s acquisition of the FBUC would be in the community’s best interest due to long term sustainability of the system and having a public owned utility for all household and irrigation needs.Lastly, should the county acquire the FBUC, the increased cost would be known before a decision was made to move forward.

Preliminary Engineering Report (PER)

The PER has been placed on hold. The PER is a “concept” document the Virginia Dept. of Health (VDH) requires to determine if a project meets all of their standards. Even if a PER is approved, no work can begin on a project until the Final Plans have been approved by the VDH. GrayCo and Sydnor Hydro have put treated well water in the secondary vs. primary position should the above solutions not work. Nonetheless, the committee will continue aggressively pursue alloptions that keep treated well water out of our potable water supply.

Meeting Invitees:

Russ AaronsonGrayCo

Sally BoeseBel Bridge

Giff BreedIndependence Golf Course

Dick BrownFB Golf Villas

Frank JepsonFB Estate Villas

Joe LangeFB Estate Villas

Tom NapierFB POA

Jesse RoyallSydnor Hydro

Casey SowersRiverton Associates

Bob VideticBel Crest

John WatkinsFB Golf Villas