Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, September 26, 1995 TAG: 9509260040
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KIMBERLY N. MARTIN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
When Richard Conway bought his Roanoke County home three years ago, he didn't know much about storm water detention ponds.
But thanks to a 1990 requirement imposed by the county on all developers to address storm water management, Conway has become a bit of an expert on detention ponds.
Here's why: The 1990 regulation requires developers to build detention ponds to catch rainwater runoff, but not to maintain them.
Maintenance becomes the responsibility of homeowners' associations set up by the developers and, ultimately, people like Conway.
It's a responsibility Conway says he and other residents of his King's Chase subdivision don't want.
"We don't have a problem with building the ponds. But there isn't an effective program in place to maintain them," Conway said.
No one questions that a problem is there, but coming up with possible solutions has been a yearlong process of study and debate. Today, the Board of Supervisors will vote on the county staff's latest attempt to address the upkeep question.
But the vote will not be an easy one. Three of the four recommendations involve some type of service fee or tax increase to pay for the county to take over the responsibility. The fourth option is for further study.
One solution, according to the staff report, is setting up a separate taxing district for those affected. Another is a countywide annual tax of about $9 for homeowners, in exchange for dropping the $5 decal fee imposed in 1985.
"The people sitting up on Bent Mountain didn't ask these people to build. So I'm not going to be supportive of [a general tax increase] in any way, shape or form," said Supervisor Bob Johnson, who's been rallying to get something done on the problem.
County Engineer Arnold Covey concedes that storm water management primarily affects urban areas, not rural ones like Bent Mountain and Catawba.
That's because, as more land is paved over, water has nowhere to go. It's a science lesson the county learned the hard way when a couple of severe storms in 1989 flooded several areas. Supervisors, in turn, got flooded with complaints.
The 1990 requirement for detention ponds in new developments was the result.
"Our main concentration was to keep it so conditions downstream don't become worse because of development up the hill," Covey said.
With no one inspecting the detention ponds, weeds and branches can choke their pipes and render them useless.
"No one has walked into King's Chase and said 'This pond is below standards,'" said Andy Kelderhouse, who works for King's Chase developer Fralin & Waldrop and lives in King's Chase. "How is the county going to control what residents do?"
Conway argues that citizens don't have the level of expertise to effectively do the job.
"They say once the pond reaches a certain level of silt, we're supposed to have it cleaned. Who's going to tell us when it reaches that level or how to clean it?"
The issue becomes even more complicated in view of impending mandates on storm water management, said County Attorney Paul Mahoney, who has worked with Covey to piece together the alternatives for the board to consider.
Proposed federal legislation would require governments with populations under 100,000 to test the water it releases from its detention ponds into the rivers. There also is a Fifth Planning District Commission study on regional storm water management, which won't be complete for another six to nine months.
"The problems are going to continue to grow," Mahoney said.
As of now, the county's role is unclear.
"It's not one of those things they 'shall' do. This is an area where there's discretion," Mahoney said.
Conway is quick to point out that this is not just a South County problem. Twenty-five to 30 subdivisions countywide have the same problem. The ponds other subdivisions are responsible for don't serve those neighborhoods, but neighborhoods downstream.
Still, Supervisors Chairman Fuzzy Minnix says he's reluctant to support any new taxes.
"I can't see taking money from all over the county to help a specific area," Minnix said. "With the home assessments being up and water bills being up substantially and sewer bills being up substantially I can't see myself voting for a tax for anything."
But he has no suggestions for alternatives, either.
"I'm going to go in the listening mode," he said.
by CNB