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Watering may be tied to address

Stafford looks at mandatory water restrictions; Rocky Pen Reservoir delays are a factor

By MEGHANN COTTER

Date published: 5/2/2007

By MEGHANN COTTER

By MEGHANN COTTER

Stafford County may permanently limit which days residents can water their lawns each summer.

A proposal considered by the Supervisors yesterday would allow even-numbered addresses to water their lawns on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Odd addresses could do so on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

Supervisors will hear public comments on the ordinance at their June 5 meeting.

The program calls for water-use restrictions from May 1 to Oct. 31 each year. It could take effect as early as July 1 this year.

Mondays would be a system recovery day, with no watering allowed. Watering also would be prohibited between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., the hottest, least effective hours to give lawns a drink.

The rules would not apply to commercial customers or residents using automatic shutoff nozzles.

"We don't want anyone to stop watering their landscaping or lose their lawn. They just need to water wisely," said Utilities Director Bob Bos.

Violators would first receive a warning. They'd be fined $25 for the second offense in a calendar year and $50 for any others.

Nancy Collins, utilities financial manager, said the limitations aim to increase water conservation awareness.

Some residents have been known to let their sprinklers water the streets or run during the rain, she said. That creates an unnecessary impact on the county's water supply. And population growth increases usage about a half million gallons a day annually.

The average used in 2006 was 9.9 million gallons a day, but it peaked as high as 15.6 million gallons. Assuming everything works perfectly, county treatment plants can process about 20 million gallons a day. Part of that must remain available to handle a major fire or disaster, as well.

"The Board has adopted sustainability as part of its vision," Bos said. "Part of this is to get water conservation in front of [the public] and remind them how important it is."

Stafford, along with many other regional localities, asks for voluntary water conservation each summer. The county last imposed mandatory water restrictions in 2002, as part of a statewide effort to handle that year's drought, Bos said.

Other communities have used odd-even standards successfully for a number of years, Collins said. James City County in Virginia and Cary, N.C., are among them.

She anticipates the restrictions may impact department revenues, but no more so than an unusually wet summer when watering lawns isn't as necessary. People may actually water their grass longer and less often under the proposed system, she said. And that's OK.

"A good soaking is actually what they should be doing," she said.

A permanent water conservation proposal comes in the shadow of a delayed Rocky Pen Reservoir project. Plans for the south Stafford drinking source have sat idle for months, pending a Board of Zoning Appeals decision on the dam and officials' efforts to change the application process. Utilities Director Bob Bos said the issues are among the reasons his office has decided to pursue mandatory water restrictions. "We do have concerns about the Rocky Pen Reservoir. It makes it a little more critical," he said. WHAT'S GOING ON NOW? The Utilities Department needs county permission for Rocky Pen's dam to be built in the floodplain. A code amendment approved by a vote of 4-3 by the Supervisors last night will now allow that request to follow conditional use permit procedures--passing through the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors. Previous law required Board of Zoning Appeals approval. But officials faced challenges in that process, due to application issues and absent BZA members. A public hearing on the dam will come before the Planning Commission May 16. Commissioners will then forward their recommendations to the supervisors for a final decision. Utilities officials hope the dam will be approved in time to start foundation work in June. Further delays could jeopardize the county's water supply in a heavy drought. PROJECT STATUS Design of treatment facility and construction of the intake mechanism underway 82 of 106 properties (20 to 30 homes) acquired; negotiations on remaining parcels will continue into 2008 $14.4 million of $103.6 million estimated budget spent; prices have increased from $77 million because of construction costs Completion delayed until spring 2011, from spring 2010

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Date published: 5/2/2007

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