07 May 2011
By: Graham Moomaw
The Daily Progress (Charlottesville, VA)
"In 2006, both the City Council and the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors approved a $142 million plan to ensure an adequate water supply to the area for the next 50 years by building a concrete dam at the Ragged Mountain Reservoir that would raise its pool by 45 feet. A bloc of city residents insisted that dredging the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir and making incremental improvements to existing infrastructure would accomplish that goal without the need for a costly new dam. The roiling controversy came to a head early this year when, in a set of split votes, the council approved a plan for an earthen dam that would raise the existing reservoir by 30 feet. Construction on the new dam could begin as early as mid-October, but the political battle over the issue doesn't appear to be going away anytime soon. Self-described Socialist Party candidate Brandon Collins, running as an independent, lists his position as 'Dredge the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir now, don't dam' on his campaign website...."
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