Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, June 12, 1990 TAG: 9006120510
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A/1 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: MARK LAYMAN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The reservoir, which is designed to yield up to 23 million gallons of water per day, will cost $33 million. A water-treatment plant will cost $9 million. Storage, pumps and transmission lines will cost $6 million.
Other costs - such as construction management, a water-rate feasibility study and a debt reserve fund - total $5 million.
In 1986, county voters approved a $15 million general-obligation bond issue to pay the county's share of what was intended to be a regional reservoir. But since then, Roanoke and Salem have backed out, leaving county taxpayers to foot the bill.
Hodge said the county will sell water and sewer revenue bonds to raise the additional $38 million needed for the project. Revenue bonds could be repaid without an increase in real estate taxes.
The debt payment for the project would range from $2.8 million to $4.7 million per year, Hodge said.
By raising its utility tax from the present rate of 6 percent to 12 percent, the maximum allowed by law, the county could bring in $1.8 million a year in new revenue. The utility tax is now charged on gas, electric and telephone bills; it could be added to water bills. And once the county had its own water supply, it would save $360,000 a year in surcharges it pays on water purchased from Roanoke and Salem.
"With those two alone, we can go a long way toward financing this project," Hodge said.
Water-connection fees and rates could be raised to cover the rest of the cost. Hodge said he will ask the Board of Supervisors today to hire a consultant to recommend whether a rate increase is necessary.
If Roanoke and Roanoke County consolidate, the debt on the reservoir will have to be repaid by residents of the former county, Hodge said.
The supervisors decided earlier to go ahead with construction of a reservoir that will yield 23 million gallons of water per day - even though the county now uses only 6 million to 7 million gallons per day. Studies have projected that the county will need 17 million gallons of water per day by the year 2040.
The county's permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers allows construction of a 23-million-gallon-per-day reservoir. That won't cost much more than a 17-million-gallon-per-day reservoir, Assistant County Administrator John Hubbard said.
"Not to take advantage of the full capacity of the site and the permit we have would be a mistake," he said.
The extra capacity will allow the reservoir to be a backup for Roanoke's Carvins Cove reservoir and for Salem, Hodge said.
The first phase of the project includes construction of an 8-million-gallon-per-day water-treatment plant. That's enough to meet the county's immediate needs. As water demand increases, another treatment plant will have to be built. Salem's water-treatment plant in Glenvar also can be expanded.
The county hopes to have construction bids for the reservoir next spring. Construction should be completed by the fall of 1993, and the reservoir should be in use in 1995.
The reservoir will be built off the Roanoke River near the Montgomery County line. Water from the river will be pumped into the reservoir. The treatment plant will be downstream in Glenvar. When needed, water from the reservoir will be released into the river and withdrawn at the treatment plant.
by CNB