Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 4, 1995 TAG: 9502060030
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: BRIAN KELLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SHAWSVILLE LENGTH: Medium
Montgomery County leaders celebrated the Christiansburg-to-Elliston water system with speeches, a ribbon cutting, photo opportunities and a hydrant opening outside the Shawsville Volunteer Rescue Squad. County Administrator Betty Thomas hailed the "spirit of cooperation" between government agencies and the community.
For many of the people who will now be drinking it, however, the New River water leaves a bitter taste, even years after the decision to disconnect from an old spring-fed system.
"I don't believe anybody down here approves of discontinuing the use of this spring water," said Joe D. Henson, 83. "There isn't anything wrong with it. It never did hurt anybody."
Henson and his late brother, S.B. Henson, operated the Elliston Water Co. for 30 years until the county took it over in the early 1980s. He called the new waterline, "the biggest fool thing that I ever heard of."
The county Public Service Authority turned on the system Jan. 27 without public notice, causing cloudy water for many Elliston residents as the pipes flushed out trapped air. That should last for several more days, said Utilities Director Gary Gibson.
But within the next two weeks, the state should lift a boil order that has hung over Elliston since September 1990, when the state Health Department detected surface-water contamination in the former spring-fed system.
All that's left is to disconnect the separate east Elliston system from a well and connect it to the new line.
Since 1990, Elliston residents have either obtained drinking water from neighbors with wells, boiled their tap water or just ignored the order, relying on years of experience with the spring. The new system serves some 700 connections, or an estimated 2,100 people.
The boil order touched off a tumultuous debate in Elliston, a rural enclave about 15 miles east of Christiansburg. Many residents opposed having treated water from the New River piped downhill to their community. But the county, and its Public Service Authority, prevailed after saying alternatives, such as building a spring-fed reservoir along Brake Branch, were too expensive.
Joe Stewart, who represents the area on the Board of Supervisors, was an outspoken opponent and missed Friday's ceremony. Early last month, he said of the spring, "One of these days they're going to wake up and use that water."
The Rev. Kenneth B. Wright, pastor of First Baptist Church in Roanoke, was another waterline opponent in 1991. The Brake Road resident said many people in Elliston continue to resent the line because they say the county never seriously considered alternatives that would have continued use of the springs. "It seems that the governmental leaders' minds ... were made up in that regard," Wright said. "I think we will always have some feelings that there was another alternative."
Ira Long, chairman of the Public Service Authority board and also a Board of Supervisors member, said the county could find no economical way to keep the spring clean.
Some people are looking forward to the new line, at least in terms of convenience. "Basically, I'm the one that's been running out to get the water," said Keith Bryant, 34. "I'll be glad to hear about it once they send out the notice that it's safe to drink the water."
The county paid for the project with money from the Farmers Home Administration, now known as the Rural Economic and Community Development agency. It awarded Montgomery an $800,000 grant and a low-interest loan to cover the balance. The state Transportation Department also paid $294,000 for an extension to its maintenance shop and the Ironto rest area on Interstate 81. The construction cost was approximately $2.3 million, with another $200,000 in land acquisition, legal and engineering costs, said R.A. "Chip" Worley Jr., an executive with Anderson and Associates Inc., which designed the project.
Construction began last year, with E.C. Pace Co. of Roanoke the primary contractor. Late last year, the federal agency approved another $1.06 million loan-grant package to pay for a waterline extension from Shawsville to Alleghany Springs, which is also under a boil order.
The new line will mean higher water bills in early March. Customers who use 5,000 to 6,000 gallons a month should see an increase from $1.50 to $2, Gibson said. That increase will cover operating costs and debt service for the project.
The Montgomery County Public Service Authority already has the highest water rate in the New River Valley at $24 per month per 5,000 gallons, according to Draper Aden Associates' 1994 Virginia water and sewer rate study. That's well above the state average of $15.11.
One Elliston-area retiree in his 60s worried Friday about the increase. "When you're on a fixed income and the water goes up ... it does hurt."
by CNB