11/2/11

Loudoun Water presents Raspberry Falls study to Leesburg Town Council | LoudounTimes.com

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Loudoun Water presents Raspberry Falls study to Leesburg Town Council

Thursday, Oct. 13, 2011 by Laura Peters | 28 comments | Email this story

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Leesburg Town Council sank into the water issues plauging the subdivisions Raspberry Falls and Selma Estates during their Oct. 11 meeting. Loudoun Water presented council their study on providing solutions to water problems in the community north of Leesburg, which was brought before Loudoun Countys Board of Supervisors in August. The study, conducted by Hazen and Sawyer, a New York City environmental engineering firm, looked at water treatment and central water pipeline options for Raspberry Falls, a community of about 250 homes off of U.S. 15 that operates on a communal well system. Selma Estates has more than 200 homes and also operates on a communal well system. The study found if Loudoun County Supervisors decide to allow a water pipeline extension to Raspberry Falls from the Town of Leesburg, a connection from U.S. 15 to Tuscarora High School would be the easiest route to take. The project would cost $7.5 million to build and the Town of Leesburg would pay $418,000 in annual operating costs, according to the study. This will be a cost to the Town of Leesburg. Town of Leesburg laying pipe, Town of Leesburg paying easements, is that what your assumption is? Council member Tom Dunn asked. So at this point youre saying heres the cost. [So the] Board of Supervisors and Leesburg Town Council get to pound it out to see who gets the cost. According to the study the pipeline extension would take at least two years to complete, including time for proper easement acquisition, design and one year of construction time. Both the town and Loudoun Supervisors need a joint agreement between on the pipeline extension in order to sort out funding. My recommendation would be that this still be Loudoun Water that we have one customer in this game and our customer is Loudoun Water. [Then] have the county pay for the pipe and we sell you the water, Dunn added. And you can sell it back to Raspberry Falls at whatever cost you want to so that way the town is only selling water to the county - its going through your pipes and its your land and you deal with the easements. Seems like a cleaner process for the Town of Leesburg. Council members suggested presenting the study in a work session either later in the month or in November due to the complicated process of the water issues. Im a little concerned about the cost and operating costs for the pipeline operation would be a money losing situation for the town, Council member Ken Reid said. How high would the rates have to be for the town to at least recoup the cost? I come up with over $120,000 in revenue just for Raspberry Falls. Thats almost a fourth of the operating expense. The rates have to go way beyond. Assuming what the average household usage is, three to 400 gallons a day, itll be $150,000 to $200,000 in revenue and that will not cover it, Aref Etermadi, acting director of utilities for the Town of Leesburg said. Its not going to pay for itself. Etermadi suggested that Dunns idea of the town selling the water would be the best options for
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Etermadi suggested that Dunns idea of the town selling the water would be the best options for the town. Reid also pointed out how narrow the Board of Supervisors made Raspberry Falls and suggested looking into different wells in the area as viable water options. The wells are not an option, Etermadi pointed out, saying some are dry or filled with bacteria. Another option Loudoun Water presented was a membrane filtration system used to separate particles from a liquid.
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It would cost $4 million to implement the system in Raspberry Falls with $67,000 in annual operating costs. The current annual operating cost for Raspberry Falls well system is $50,000.

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A membrane filtration system to serve both Raspberry Falls and nearby Selma Estates would cost $8 million to construct and carries an estimated annual operating cost of $217,000, the study said. Selma Estates also operates on a communal well and serves as an emergency system for Raspberry Falls.

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One problem council has with dealing with payments for either a pipeline or a filtration system is that both subdivisions are out of Leesburgs service area. Theres been a lot of comments or concerns from people about the water quality, Vice Mayor Kevin Wright said. Theres been indications from Loudoun Water that were meeting the water quality requirements, but theres indications from the homes that theyre not being met. Is there any study of the current infrastructure to rule out infiltration or contamination? The concern I have is if the Town of Leesburg is going to connect to that infrastructure have we ruled out any faults with that infrastructure that would may continue some issues with contamination. Loudoun Water responded saying they have never collected a sample from the distribution system that has not met the water quality standards and theres not indication of concern in that area. Why wasnt the cost ascertained for the extension of the pipeline extension to Selma Estates? Council member Dave Butler asked. Loudoun Water officials said they needed direct consult from the Board of Supervisors in order to violate land use operations. But you could have done it without their expressed authority, Butler said. Loudoun Water said they do not step over the board in regards to what the board owns and what Loudoun Water owns. Butler brought up the point that Loudoun Water also did the membrane filtration study without the boards permission. Loudoun Water responded that they were able to do so because they owned the operation of the water and it didnt have to do with land. Im personally disappointed in Loudoun Water I think this should be about water quality and the satisfaction of the residents, Butler said. Butler said his main concern is how Loudoun Water only has certain studies done on how much the pipeline would cost to get to Raspberry Falls with water quality then one for Selma Estates but not studied the project cost together which he feels needs to be done to get a comparison. Council will discuss the issues of Raspberry Falls and Selma Estates in their next work session. Staff Writer Crystal Owens contributed to this article.
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Comments
Wed, Oct 19 at 04:23 PM by Rich Dude From Raspberry Falls | Report this comment

I live in Raspberry Falls, so this means I have money to burn. I drink Bling H2O. I do not need water from Leesburg.