
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, July 17, 1994                   TAG: 9407180127
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV2   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: JULIA STEWART MILTON|
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

WILL NATURE HAVE THE LAST LAUGH AT WATER PIPELINE?

In the past month or so, I have watched with interest as the new water pipeline has been laid from Christiansburg to the Shawsville-Elliston area of Montgomery County along U.S. 11-460. I'm sure others of you have also seen those huge, multi-million-dollar machines as they chew up pieces of roadway, stirring up dust, rearranging - at least temporarily - the scenery as well as the entrances to many residents' drives.

I began to notice this process as it worked its way down Christiansburg Mountain. I began to be amazed at how quickly it moved along.

It sped by the road leading to White Sulphur Springs - an area known for hundreds of years for the healing powers of its springs. As a resort before the Civil War, it welcomed many famous guests. During the war itself, the old hotel and guest cottages served as a Confederate hospital.

Then the pipeline continued on past Cedar Springs. It went by the large spring that flows from the hillside just above Shawsville. It passed Alleghany Springs Road, which leads to another famous old resort that entertained visitors seeking the cool, clear waters offered there. This pipeline has wound its way over and around many streams and rivers until now ...

For the past week or so, the work has slowed. Could it be that even the workers on this project are confused? They seem to be stumped at how to go by the Big Spring at Elliston. This spring is believed to produce millions of gallons of water daily. Anyone who stops to watch can see through the crystal waters as the bottom moves and churns from the pressure of the water working its way to the surface. For many years, Elliston itself was known as Big Spring - for a very good reason.

Could it be that those working on the pipeline can't understand why they are placing a line that will carry chemically treated water all of the way from the New River past such a pristine abundance as Big Spring?

When was the last time any of us set out to buy "bottled chemically treated river water" from the supermarket? I can't imagine Quibell's label for that, can you?

By the time this letter appears, perhaps "whatever" was delaying the progress of the pipeline will have been resolved, and, as foolish as it is, they will continue on past more natural water sources.

I can't help but wonder, "Why?"

I can't help but wonder, too, if the beavers, who have been taunting highway work crews by their dam building in the old spring nearest to Elliston, will be watching. I see more purpose to their structure than what's about to go by them.

If animals have a sense of humor, I can almost picture them sitting on their dam occasionally, sipping the cold, clear water, pointing and laughing at the "busywork" going on in front of them. And they say animals are dumb.|

Julia Stewart Milton grew up in Elliston where her family has lived for generations. She teaches home-bound children for Montgomery County and works at the Christiansburg Livestock Market for her father, county Supervisor Joe Stewart. She is a Christiansburg resident.

by CNB