ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, November 4, 1996 TAG: 9611040111
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: MONETA
SOURCE: JOANNE POINDEXTER STAFF WRITER
HIGHPOINT'S water woes will soon be at an end. The lakewater will be tested and treated using a proposed membrane treatment plant.
During the peak summer season, the rumble of big trucks hauling water to a community tank can be heard several times a day in Highpoint subdivision near Smith Mountain Lake.
It's an effort to provide relief to households that have experienced low water pressure and, on a few occasions, muddy water.
But by this time of year - after the leaves have fallen and covered the long gravel driveways in the neighborhood - the water trucks traverse the neighborhood's roads less often.
And by this time next year, Bedford County Public Service Authority officials hope the trucks will be gone for good.
By then, Highpoint residents should be getting their water for drinking, cooking, bathing and cleaning from Smith Mountain Lake.
This is a first.
Not only is it the first time a community will draw its drinking water from the lake, it also marks the first time in Virginia that surface water used for consumption will be tested and treated using a proposed membrane treatment plant.
Though it has drawn little attention outside the subdivision, Bedford County Administrator William Rolfe sees the project as opening possibilities for Smith Mountain Lake to become a major regional water supplier 50 years from now.
"It has the cleanest water around, and everybody is committed to keeping the lake clean," said Rolfe, adding that Roanoke's upgrade of its sewage treatment center also plays a major role in keeping Smith Mountain Lake clean.
Rolfe said the project opens up economic development possibilities not only for Bedford County, but also for the Roanoke Valley and Botetourt, Franklin, Campbell and Pittsylvania counties.
The Bedford County PSA has been trying to find an adequate water supply for Highpoint, one of the county's oldest subdivisions, for about 10 years. The PSA, which has nine water systems on the lake, dug 12 wells and looked at dozens of other projects before deciding to use the lake to bring water to Highpoint.
The amount of water to be drawn from the lake for use in Highpoint - 10,000 to 30,000 gallons a day - would fill a 20-by-40-foot swimming pool. Taking the water will have little impact on the lake's water level because its top foot holds 6 billion gallons of water alone.
The system will allow the PSA to offer water service to other areas willing to pay the cost of extending the water lines.
Allowing communities to use the lake as a water supply "is going to be important," said Carolyn Thomas, a Ferrum College ecologist. "It shows the world that Smith Mountain Lake is a clean lake and encourages more people to become involved in preserving the lake in addition to solving their supply problems."
From an ecological standpoint, it's better to have one supply system than numerous wells, said Thomas, who lives on the lake.
The people in Highpoint are generally in favor of withdrawing water from the lake for their use, said Robert Hughston, president of the Highpoint Property Owners Association. "We think it's a good idea. We want a good, steady, clean abundant water supply."
Hilde Hussa, director of the Smith Mountain Lake Policy Advisory Board, said the project has not been an issue with other lake communities.
There has been more lively discussion regarding water safety and debris in the Blackwater River, issues that affect the entire lake, she said.
Developing the lake as a water supply makes good sense, said Franklin County developer Ron Willard. Smith Mountain Lake is becoming a major industry for Franklin County, and local governments, he said, can make money selling water and on water connections.
The fact that American Electric Power Co., formerly Appalachian Power Co. which developed the lake, is filing an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission means the power company is giving its authority for the Highpoint project, said Mike Thacker, AEP's reservoir superintendent. The energy board must approve any changes AEP makes at the lake.
"We've got to realize that water is a natural resource and we all have to share," said Thacker, adding the purpose of the reservoir is to store water for public use.
Although the project will take only a small amount of water from the lake, AEP will have more concerns as more communities began to withdraw water, Thacker said.
* * *
It has been 10 years since the Department of Environmental Quality determined that Smith Mountain Lake water is potable - it could be used for drinking water if treated - according to Ferrum's Thomas, who has been involved in monitoring the clarity of the lake and testing for nutrients and algae.
When the monitoring began, the clarity depth was 15 to 16 feet, but that was before a lot of the land development. Ten years later, the lake is still clear down to about 12 feet.
The PSA has been conducting its own tests for more than a year. The tests are necessary to answer questions from the state Department of Health's Office of Water Programs, which must approve the water system.
Smith Mountain Lake "is a high-quality lake," said Willie Jones, PSA administrator. "It does not get dirty often."
The water's quality is the main reason the PSA is proposing to go with membrane filtering rather than a conventional water treatment that, Jones said, produces more waste and relies on chemicals.
The new system uses a membrane system of hollow straining filters that are finer than a strand of human hair and remove so many particles from the water that less chlorine is needed.
Jones said the small amount of water needed in Highpoint and new federal water guidelines also make it harder to justify going with a conventional water filtration plant. If the PSA had a customer that required a large amount of water, going with the conventional system would make sense, he said.
The initial capacity of the system will be about 120,000 gallons a day, but Highpoint will only need about 10,000 gallons a day in the winter and maybe about 30,000 gallons during the peak season.
The PSA has 92 customers in Highpoint, but there are more than 200 lots that could be developed, Jones said. A number of the homes in the area have private wells.
The PSA looked at getting water for Highpoint from one of its wells near a former prison camp that is now part of a regional jail system. But after the Department of Corrections failed to respond to a PSA request for an easement for water lines, the option wasn't considered, Jones said.
Other options were costly, covered too much ground, required more manpower or had problems with disposing of chemicals used in treating the water, he said.
Jones estimates it will cost $750,000 to get the water system operating. The PSA will pay AEP a fee based on the net amount of water withdrawn.
The PSA is using county capital improvement funds and PSA reserves to pay for the system.
Residents say they have been assured their water rates will not increase with the new system.
Jim Nielsen, who moved from Michigan, said he pays between $50 and $60 every two months, "but to have good, fresh water, it's not a problem."
People with wells, he said, have to pay for electricity to pump their water, for a filtering system and well treatments. "We have the benefit of PSA monitoring [drinking water] for us."
The project will go before the Bedford County Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors after it gets the OK from the state Health Department.
Barry Dunkley, regional Health Department engineering field director, said Bedford's testing has been positive and "everything looks encouraging."
There may be delays when construction starts or if the Health Department comes up with additional questions, Jones said.
Jones said taking water from Smith Mountain Lake and filtering it through the membrane system eventually will save the PSA money.
Fewer man-hours will be needed for sampling water; fewer chemicals will be needed; and above all, the PSA will not have to pay $25,000 to $30,000 a year to haul water from one of its other systems to Highpoint.
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