Greene and Orange counties could one day share a reservoir — if one is ever built.
In a unanimous vote, the Greene County Board of Supervisors approved a resolution at its Dec. 10 meeting to enter discussions with Orange County officials about working together to build the long-anticipated White Run Reservoir in northern Greene County.
The Orange County Board of Supervisors passed a similar resolution earlier this month.
“There is mutual interest in more formal discussions with Orange County about sharing our future reservoir,” Greene County Administrator Cathy Schafrik told the board.
She noted that it would not be a permanent solution for either county, both of which have struggled with aging water and sewer infrastructure for years now.
“This would be a stopgap measure,” Schafrik said. “It would help us financially to get going with our project, and it would help Orange with their immediate need for water.”
The reservoir has been in various stages of planning and development since 2008, when the Rapidan Service Authority still oversaw Greene County’s water and sewer systems.
After years of legal battles, Greene County was released from its contract with the authority in 2023.
That means the construction of the White Run Reservoir is now the responsibility of Greene County’s fledgling Water & Sewer Department, which has struggled financially and seen multiple directors come and go in its first year of operation.
Greene County’s aging infrastructure and frequent water main breaks are no secret to residents there. The county has been placed under multiple boil-water advisories just in the past year after pipes burst.
Orange County has had its own problems, and not just with water main breaks. For nearly a week in August, thousands of residents were directed not to drink or use their tap water after a catastrophic failure at a water treatment facility on the eastern side of the county.
There is a mutual interest in sharing the cost of building a reservoir, Schafrik told the board: Greene County needs financial assistance to get construction underway, and Orange County needs clean drinking water.
“Sharing the financial side of this would strengthen our position even more,” Schafrik said. “Once we have our reservoir built, we won’t need it at full capacity on Day One; Orange County has an immediate need for water.”
The original cost of building the reservoir was pegged at $36 million back in 2008. That has ballooned over the past 16 years to $76 million, according to Thomas Hutka, the director of Greene County’s Water & Sewer Department.
“The financial plans for sharing the reservoir are under review by an outside firm,” Schafrik told the board.
Those plans are slated to come back to the board for review on Jan. 8. If Greene and Orange counties share a reservoir until Orange County can build its own, then Orange County would be responsible for fees to use the water from the White Run Reservoir in Greene County.
Source: www.dailyprogress.com
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