Photo by Matt de Simone
By Matt de Simone
The Botetourt County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a proposed waterline project last Tuesday that officials say will improve water pressure, reliability and fire protection for residents of the Dal-Nita Hills subdivision.
The project, proposed by the Western Virginia Water Authority, calls for approximately 3,800 feet of new waterline along Etzler Drive and Victoria Road. The project includes 12-inch and 8-inch waterline, pressure-reducing valves and four new fire hydrants. The line will connect to the existing public water system at Greenfield Recreation Park.
The project is intended to loop existing waterlines, improve system pressure and reliability, and allow Dal-Nita Hills residents to transition from an aging community well system to the Water Authority’s public water network. County staff previously reported that the existing system does not provide enough pressure to support fire hydrants.
The project carries an estimated cost of $1.5 million, according to comments made during Tuesday’s meeting. The Water Authority has an annual capital improvement budget of approximately $11 million.
The project became the subject of considerable discussion during the public hearing, however, because of its proximity to the planned Google data center campus at Botetourt Center at Greenfield.
Several residents questioned why a 12-inch line was being extended toward Dal-Nita Hills and whether the infrastructure could eventually be used to provide water to the data center. Some speakers said they supported providing Dal-Nita Hills residents with better water service but remained skeptical about the project’s configuration and the county’s assurances that it was unrelated to Google.
Other Dal-Nita Hills residents spoke in favor of the project, citing years of problems with low water pressure, water quality, aging equipment and interruptions in service.
Residents described replacing pumps, water softeners and water heaters because of problems with the existing system. Some also described periods when water had to be brought into the subdivision by truck.
County staff previously reported that recent sampling had detected PFAS in the existing well system.
Amsterdam District Supervisor Tim Snyder thanked Dal-Nita Hills residents for attending the meeting and urged the board to listen carefully to what they had said during the public hearing.
Snyder said the Water Authority already has a 12-inch main in Greenfield and that the proposed project would extend that infrastructure to the neighborhood. He also emphasized that the project would replace the existing water source for Dal-Nita Hills rather than provide water service to the Google campus.
The project’s connection to Google became a particular focus of discussion after Snyder made a motion to approve the Commission Permit, which was seconded by Fincastle District Supervisor Brandon Nicely.
Buchanan District Supervisor Linda Rottman questioned County Attorney Mike Lockaby about whether Google could eventually connect to the waterline.
Lockaby explained that the board’s action Tuesday was a 2232 review, which determines whether the general location, character and extent of a public facility are consistent with the county’s Comprehensive Plan. It does not approve future connections or uses of the line, and a Commission Permit is not a construction permit.
Rottman said she did not fully understand how Lockaby’s explanation fit with Snyder’s comments and continued to question what would happen if Google sought to connect to the system in the future.
Community Development Director Nicole Pendleton explained that Dal-Nita Hills represents a “little hole” in the area covered by the Water Authority’s existing service territory under the Comprehensive Plan. The Greenfield area, by contrast, is already within the designated service area.
Pendleton said Google could connect to the existing water system in Greenfield without requiring the same 2232 review because that area is already contemplated for public water service. A future extension outside the existing service area, however, would require whatever additional approvals are applicable at that time.
Pendleton also noted that the board’s approval of a waterline easement for the Water Authority on county property in May should have included the same 2232 review. She said the Dal-Nita Hills area likely should have been included when the Comprehensive Plan was updated because the project was already part of the Water Authority’s capital plan.
The Dal-Nita Hills project previously went before the Planning Commission, where a motion to recommend approval resulted in a 2-2 vote. Because the commission’s consideration occurred after the statutory 60-day review period, the application was deemed approved under state and county law and advanced to the Board of Supervisors.
Tuesday’s unanimous vote clears the way for the next stage of the project.
Pendleton said the county will notify the Water Authority that the Commission Permit has been approved, after which the approved plans will be taken out to bid.
The project is expected to provide Dal-Nita Hills residents with improved water pressure and reliability while replacing the subdivision’s aging well system with public water service.
