by James Higgins
Something interesting is going on in the outskirts of Charlottesville: at their December 10, 2024 meeting, the Greene County Board of Supervisors (BoS) voted 5-0 to give staff the authority to explore a partnership with Orange County for funding the proposed White Run Reservoir, in exchange for the right of Orange to buy water to meet its future needs. According to Greene Administrator Cathy Schafrik, “It just seemed like a natural matching, and a perfect opportunity to match our needs and Orange County’s needs.” 1
The White Run Reservoir (for convenience, hereafter referred to as the Reservoir) has attained a legendary status in Greene County. It first was proposed circa 2000, as a means of supplying water to the ‘Rapidan Center,’ a mixed-use development under consideration by the Fried Companies for construction in Ruckersville.2 3 Following negotiations between Greene County and the Rapidan Service Authority (RSA), which at that time supplied water and sewer to Greene residents, an agreement was made early in 2004 to build the Reservoir (or ‘impoundment,’ in public works jargon). The estimated cost for necessary improvements to Stanardsville’s water and sewer infrastructure, construction of the Reservoir, and its associated water treatment plant, was $25.3 million.4
The Reservoir project was scheduled for completion by the end of 2008. The lack of progress on the project created considerable friction between Greene politicians and the management of the RSA. The accusations and counter-accusations between these entities (which could serve as an entire thesis in utilities public policy) led to the eventual separation of Green County from the RSA after a protracted and expensive court battle.5 6
One thing that has emerged over the years is that Greene underestimated the complexity of the project. For example, not until early in 2024, did the County succeed in procuring the required easements from those property owners whose lands (on the White Run river and Dairy Road in Ruckersville) adjoin the proposed site of the Reservoir.7
The site for the proposed White Run Reservoir is off of Dairy Road in Ruckersville in Greene County. Photo by the author
Inevitably, the estimated construction cost of $25.3 million in 2004 since has ballooned into a larger sum. According to a 2023 presentation by the financial firm of Davenport & Company LLC, the cost of the Reservoir could range from $75 to $100 million. Davenport’s estimate for the cost of modernizing Stanardsville’s water and sewer infrastructure, built by the Civilian Conservation Core in the 1930s, is about $12 million. Davenport’s ‘best case’ scenario estimates the combined costs of the Reservoir, and Stanardsville’s improvements, to be $87 million. 8 9 10
As of December, 2024, the Greene BoS has yet to publicly announce approval of the White Run project. However, with or without a cost-sharing agreement with Orange, it appears likely that the Board will approve the Reservoir project no later than this year. This is dictated by the fact that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit for the Reservoir expires in June 2028, and the projected timeline for construction is three years. Should Greene miss this ‘window,’ then it will have to engage in the permitting process all over again.11
It should be emphasized that today, two-thirds of Greene residents are on wells or private water companies, while the remaining one-third receive water and sewer from the County’s newly-formed Department of Water and Sewer. Historically, the Rapidan River provided sufficient water for those one-third of Greene residents on public water (although rationing has been imposed in periods of drought, such as in 2022 and 2023). So, the main purpose of the Reservoir is not to supply the dwellings currently on public water, but rather, to supply new residential and business development in Greene.12 13
How does Greene intend to pay for the Reservoir? Davenport & Co. proposed these funding mechanisms to garner the $87 million in thirty-year loans required to pay for the project: 14 15
- raising the equivalent dwelling unit (EDU) fees charged to developers for hooking dwellings up to County water and sewer
- adding an additional ‘fixed monthly fee’ to the bills of current and future County water and sewer customers
- increasing base water and sewer usage fees charged to those same customers
- increasing the County’s property taxes
In November 2024, Greene indeed raised monthly water bills 6 to 10 percent, and sewer bills by 16 to 18.5 percent, based on the level of use. After intense debate, the BoS also voted to increase the equivalent dwelling unit (EDU) fee for water from $10,000 per unit to $12,500, but kept the sewer EDU fee at $10,000. Whether the Board will increase property taxes, or levy additional charges to monthly water bills, remains to be seen. Needless to say, imposing such increases likely would be met with some degree of disapproval by many Greene residents.16 17 18
So, Greene County could use assistance to help pay for the Reservoir, and the infrastructure improvements to Stanardsville. Orange County wants to participate in the project. Which brings up the question: why does Orange County need water?
The answer is simple: Orange’s elected officials are aggressively promoting residential and commercial development within their County. This initiative requires large amounts of water.
For example, on April 25, 2023 the Orange County Board of Supervisors (BoS) voted 4-1 to approve the rezoning necessary to allow construction of a massive development of 2,600 acres, called ‘Wilderness Crossing,’ adjacent to the Civil War-era battlefield on Route 3. The Orange BoS did so despite overwhelming opposition to the rezoning by residents.19
According to the developer, KEG Associates III, Wilderness Crossing will have up to 5,000 residential units, 200,000 ft2 commercial space, and 732 acres for data centers, distribution centers, or other industrial-scale enterprises. The 5,000 residential units envisioned for Wilderness Crossing dwarfs the 3,750 new housing units approved for construction in Greene.20 21 22
Needless to say, 5,000 residential units will require a considerable amount of water. But it must be kept in mind that this is not the only residential development under consideration in Orange County. For example, the ‘Wilderness Shores’ development is constructing housing on 1,000 lots in Locust Grove, all of these on public water and sewer. So, Orange elected officials will need to find water not only for the proposed residences in Wilderness Crossing, but other subdivisions, too.23 24
Orange County elected officials withheld from the public the fact that, prior to the rezoning decision, they had been in negotiations with Amazon Web Services (AWS), a major operator of Virginia data centers. It took a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit, filed by the Piedmont Environmental Council in 2023 and resolved in January 2024, to reveal that the Orange BoS had entered into nondisclosure agreements (NDA) with AWS as a possible tenant of Wilderness Crossing.25
If AWS succeeds in securing permission to build a data center in Wilderness Crossing, such a facility will have a formidable requirement for water. Depending on its size, a data center may use anywhere from less than 1 million, to as many as 5 million, gallons per day.26
About half of Orange County receives its water from the Rapidan River, and unsurprisingly, Orange has investigated plans to construct their own reservoir, perhaps a 53-million-gallon facility at Poplar Run. However, as of the beginning of 2025, such plans are nowhere near as close to fruition as those of Greene County. 27 28
Orange Count elected officials presumably are well aware that the Rapidan cannot serve as a sole source of water for forecasted development. During the drought of 2002, conditions in Orange were severe, according to the United State Geological Survey (USGS):
Some of the record minimum flows [e.g., in 2002] may be due to natural conditions; however, withdrawals for water supply and irrigation probably significantly impacted the streamflows.
The town of Orange, Va., initiated strict rationing and conservation measures to maintain water supply. The town’s only water supply is from the Rapidan River. The Rapidan River near Ruckersville, Va., stream gage had a minimum daily-mean flow rate of 0.45 cubic feet per second (previous minimum daily-mean flow rate was 0.90 cubic feet per second, set in 1966).29
According to a 2013 article in the Daily Progress,
The four-year drought from 1998-2002 was something of a wake-up call and something of folklore. A town ran out of water, businesses ran out of water, famously, portable toilets lined Madison Road. While the first three years were below average, 2002 looks like a canyon on water flow graphs, an abrupt late summer drop-off that saw the Rapidan trickling at 10 percent of its normal self. The drought spurred the creation of the Town of Orange’s 45-day reservoir and caused the state to mandate all localities have a water supply plan on file.
The Progress article carries a powerful admonition:
The drought spurred the creation of the Town of Orange’s 45-day reservoir and caused the state to mandate all localities have a water supply plan on file. Orange County’s, compiled by engineering firm Wiley Wilson, complimented the consistency of the Rapidan River, but warned the river could not sustain the county’s predicted level of residential growth—a range in estimates from 40,000 to 80,000 citizens by 2025.30
In August, 2023, the RSA which provides water to Orange County, filed an application with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to increase Orange County’s withdrawals from the Rapidan by one million gallons per day. DEQ denied the request. This action presumably served as a wakeup call to Orange elected officials that they cannot rely on the Rapidan to meet the water demands of future residential development. 31 32
The Greene County water tower on Preddy Creek Road on an overcast day in late December, 2024. Photo by the author
I agree that Greene should explore a partnership with Orange County to build the White Run Reservoir. However, sound public policy will require full transparency from the Orange BoS as to their projected water needs. The people of Greene County have a right to know if the Reservoir can meet the combined future water demands both of Orange and Greene County. For example, in the event of a severe drought, will Greene divert water from the Reservoir to Orange, to allow residential and business development at Wilderness Shores and Wilderness Crossing, or to allow operation of data center(s) in Orange?
Going forward, it is incumbent upon Greene County’s elected officials to allow its residents to decide the funding mechanism(s) for the White Run Reservoir project and examine any water sharing agreement reached with Orange County. Once documents are signed, there is little room for maneuvering!
DISCLAIMER: the views expressed in this Editorial solely are those of the author.
End notes:
1 Kate Nuechterlein, “Greene and Orange Counties Consider Joint Reservoir – but Not Forever,” https://www.29news.com, December 13, 2024, https://www.29news.com/2024/12/13/greene-orange-counties-consider-joint-reservoir-not-forever/.
2 The development, now titled The Villages at Terrace Greene, is under construction on Route 29 just south of Matthew Mill Road. Obviously, construction of a reservoir has turned out not to be a prerequisite for the Villages.
3 http://www.friedcompanies.com/comm_greene_rapidan.htm
4 Personal communication with a staff member of the RSA, July 2021
5 Terry Beigie, “Issues Continue between RSA, Greene,” The Daily Progress, August 27, 2020, https://dailyprogress.com/community/madisonnews/news/issues-continue-between-rsa-greene/article_b0dedbb2-edf8-11ea-b4c3-771188643c06.html.
6 Gracie Hart Brooks, “Greene Withdrawal from RSA Hits the Homestretch,” The Daily Progress, March 30, 2023, https://dailyprogress.com/news/community/greenenews/greene-withdrawal-from-rsa-hits-the-homestretch/article_4f3d7b58-ca9f-11ed-9d9b-cfcd65f35775.html.
7 County Administrator, “Approved Minutes of the November 14, 2023 Meeting of the Greene County Board of Supervisors,” November 14, 2023. As detailed in the Minutes, a Public Hearing was held to consider the use of eminent domain to acquire properties owned by the Nimmo and Barber families, who were rejecting the monetary offers from the County. Although there was no public announcement, apparently an agreement reached with the families at the start of 2024, and the easements acquired.
8 Courtney Rogers, “White Run Water Project In Progress, Greene County Water and Sewer Board of Supervisors Meeting, September 26, 2023.” Slide 15.
9 Davenport and Co., LLC, “Utility Projects Financial Review – Water & Sewer Committee, Greene County Board of Supervisors.” August 22, 2024. Slides 12 and 17. It should be noted that this is a ‘best case’ scenario and the true cost of the project will not be understood until bids go out and contractors respond.
10 Complicating Greene’s budgeting is the increasing age (i.e., 50 years) of the plant, located on Route 29 just south of the border with Madison County, responsible for treating the water taken in from the Rapidan River. According to the September 23, 2023 presentation from Davenport & Co. (slide 13), the estimated cost of replacing this plant is $50 to $70 million. This sum is independent of those under consideration for the Reservoir and Stanardsville’s infrastructure.
11 Rogers, “White Run Water Project In Progress, Greene County Water and Sewer Board of Supervisors Meeting, September 26, 2023.” Slides 14, 17-18
12 Staff, Daily Progress, “Greene County Lifts Mandatory Water-Use Restrictions,” The Daily Progress, September 16, 2023, https://dailyprogress.com/news/community/greenenews/greene-county-lifts-mandatory-water-use-restrictions/article_6667d090-54eb-11ee-bad6-d7cd8a881bc5.html.
13 Greene Board member Francis McGuigan has calculated 3,750 housing units approved for Greene County as of 2024. Most (if not all) of these would require public water.
14 Davenport and Co., LLC, “Utility Projects Financial Review – Water & Sewer Committee, Greene County Board of Supervisors.” August 22, 2024, Slides 21 to 24
15 Davenport and Co. LLC, “Utility Projects Financial Review – Greene County, Virginia.” March 26, 2024, Slides 9 to 24
16 Central to the Board’s deliberations over raising the EDU fees were County staff’s projections of new housing starts in Greene, the reasoning being that fees can be kept low if there are more housing starts, while conversely, if there are fewer housing starts, fees should be high. The process of calculating new home starts for the County for any interval of time, be it years or decades, is (to put it tactfully) esoteric. Foremost among the projections considered by the Board, was one predicting 7,000 housing starts in Greene over the next 30 years. This prediction may (or may not) be overly optimistic, but it led to a 3-1 vote by the Board to endorse the 12.5% increase, as opposed to At-Large member Francis McGuigan’s request to increase both water and sewer fees by as much as 50%.
17 Greene County Code, suggested revisions, Chapter 31, Water, Sewers and Sewage Disposal, page 16 for water, pages 33 and 24 for sewer and grinder pumps.
18 Greene County Administrator, Official Minutes of the November 12, 2024 meeting of the County Board of Supervisors, https://greenecova.portal.civicclerk.com/.
19 Andra Landi, “Orange County OKs Wilderness Crossing despite Outpouring of Opposition,” The Daily Progress, April 26, 2023, https://dailyprogress.com/news/local/orange-county-oks-wilderness-crossing-despite-outpouring-of-opposition/article_43567ad4-e484-11ed-bafe-434a2dc2e33d.html.
20 Don McCown, “Wilderness Crossing: An In-Depth Look – The Piedmont Environmental Council,” Piedmont Environmental Council, January 4, 2023, https://www.pecva.org/region/orange/wilderness-crossing-an-in-depth-look/.
21 Cindy Sabato, “Imperiled by Development, Wilderness Battlefield Named One of the Nation’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places,” Piedmont Environmental Council, May 1, 2024, https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/imperiled-by-development-wilderness-battlefield-named-one-of-nations-11-most-endangered-historic-places-302132492.html.
22 The figure of 3,750 housing units approved for Greene County as of 2024 comes from Board member Francis McGuigan.
23 D.R. Horton Builders, “New Homes in Wilderness Shores | Locust Grove, VA | D.R. Horton,” DR Horton: America’s Largest Homebuilder, undated, https://www.drhorton.com/virginia/northern-virginia/locust-grove/wilderness-shores.
24 Josh Frederick, “REZ 23-04 Wilderness Shores Proffer Amendment | Orange County, VA – Official Website,” Orange County Virginia government, October 5, 2022, https://orangecountyva.gov/1090/REZ-23-04-Wilderness-Shores-Proffer-Amen. Note: the proffer seeks to increase the number of lots from 1,000 to 1,066
25 Emily Hemphill, “160 Years Later, a New Battle of the Wilderness Is Waged,” The Daily Progress, May 14, 2024, https://dailyprogress.com/news/local/business/development/160-years-later-a-new-battle-of-the-wilderness-is-waged/article_6babec90-0caa-11ef-a6ed-cbfaf2594de5.html.
26 James Higgins, “Guest Editorial: So You Want a Data Center? Better Have Plenty of Water! | The Schilling Show Blog,” Schilling Show Unleashed blog, December 9, 2023, https://www.schillingshow.com/2023/12/09/guest-editorial-so-you-want-a-data-center-better-have-plenty-of-water/.
27 Drew Jackson, “Orange County’s Rapidan River Reliance,” The Daily Progress, July 2, 2013, https://dailyprogress.com/community/orangenews/news/orange-countys-rapidan-river-reliance/article_8bfa6134-e353-11e2-b92a-0019bb30f31a.html. The article cites Orange Supervisor Lee Frame: ‘Frame acknowledged there was only one solution to the hard limits—an impoundment, a raw water reservoir that could hold enough water to see the county through any reasonable crisis and account for increased use based on residential or industrial development in eastern Orange County.’
28 Wiley Wilson, “Technical Report: Orange County Water Supply Plan (Draft),” April 29, 2009. This is one of a bewildering number of water assessment / technical studies commissioned over the past 40 years for the counties making up the Rapidan Service Authority.
29 R. K. White, “Water Resources Data – Virginia, 2002. Volume 1: Surface Water Discharge and Surface Water Quality Records,” United States Geological Survey publication, n.d., https://pubs.usgs.gov/wdr/WDR-VA-02-1/pdf/section_2.pdf. Page 3
30 Jackson, “Orange County’s Rapidan River Reliance.”
31 Don McCown, “Wilderness Crossing, RSA Withdrawal Permit, Elections – The Piedmont Environmental Council,” Piedmont Environmental Council, August 17, 2023, https://www.pecva.org/region/orange/wilderness-crossing-rsa-withdrawal-permit-elections/.
32 Whitney Pipkin, “Forested Area near Virginia Civil War Site Threatened with Development,” Bay Journal, May 23, 2024, https://www.bayjournal.com/news/growth_conservation/forested-area-near-virginia-civil-war-site-threatened-with-development/article_aa6e576a-191b-11ef-9b65-8f3802d3658e.html.
