Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, May 6, 1995 TAG: 9505080038
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RICHARD FOSTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
But some officials worry that a pending interstate compact between North Carolina and Virginia could prohibit Bedford County from using the lake to provide water to homes and businesses in the northeastern part of the county.
Earlier this year, Franklin County asked Bedford County to conduct a joint engineering study of a water treatment plant at Smith Mountain Lake. The plant, which wouldn't be built for at least five to 10 years, probably could provide about 14 million gallons of water a day at its peak, according to Bedford County's Public Service Authority. It would mainly serve residents at the lake.
Bedford County has not replied but is expected to cooperate. By both localities' estimates, it would probably cost $10 million to build a water treatment plant on the lake. And it could cost between $50 million and $90 million more to run water lines to far-flung reaches of the two counties.
But their plans could be affected by the compact, because the lake is part of the Roanoke River Basin - the source of water for Lake Gaston, which straddles the Virginia/North Carolina border.
Virginia Beach wants to pump 60 million gallons of water a day from Lake Gaston. A settlement between Virginia Beach and North Carolina was reached April 28. It paves the way for the drafting of an interstate compact, which must be approved by both state's legislatures and the U.S. Congress.
The compact, according to North Carolina and Virginia officials, could prohibit other localities outside the Roanoke River basin from taking water from the basin.
That could spell trouble for Bedford County residents in the Forest and Boonsboro areas, who live in the James River basin
A section of the settlement says that water withdrawals involving localities that straddle the Roanoke River and another river basin - such as Bedford County - will not be considered out-of-basin transfers. But that's only if the water transferred is substantially returned to the Roanoke River basin.
If that provision is included in the compact, Bedford officials say it could add to the cost of providing water, limit how much water could be transferred or eliminate the possibility of providing public water for parts of Forest or Boonsboro.
"I don't think it's fair that our hands are tied by an agreement between one Virginia locality and another state," said Bedford County Administrator Bill Rolfe. "We're going to ask the General Assembly to oppose ratifying the agreement."
Lack of public water is becoming a deterrent to residential and commercial growth in some areas of Bedford County, Rolfe said.
The county is already building a small water treatment plant on the lake, which it will use as a model for larger endeavors. Providing 100,000 gallons a day to residents of the Highpoint subdivision, which has poor ground water, the small plant will give county water officials a chance to study what kind of treatment the lake water will need to be a viable drinking-water source.
Bedford County's Board of Supervisors opposes the pipeline, as does Franklin County's.
"We expect the General Assembly to protect the water resources and water needs of Franklin County, and Bedford County, too, for that matter," said Franklin County Administrator Macon Sammons.
Franklin County's growth areas are all in the Roanoke River basin, and their public water would not be affected by the pipeline settlement as it now stands, Sammons said.
Pipeline opponents fear that it could set a dangerous precedent for future water withdrawals in other areas of the basin.
Staff writer Todd Jackson contributed to this story.
by CNB