"A 13-member task force is ready for long discussions about dredging the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir.

On Monday, the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority announced the names of task force members who will discuss the state of the reservoir and its future. They represent local governments, nature-based organizations and property owners. They’ll begin meeting next week.

“I think it’s a clear sign that the city and county want dredging seriously considered by RWSA,” said Dennis S. Rooker, a task force member representing the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors.

“People have been talking about maintaining this reservoir for decades,” said task force member Ridge Schuyler of The Nature Conservancy. He said the task force has diverse membership and will be most effective if it also seeks community input.
“Once you decide what it is you want out of the reservoir, then you can decide how to achieve it,” Schuyler said.

The task force’s central mission is to consider the possibility of dredging, and is not being asked to re-evaluate the 50-year water supply plan, Rooker said.
The area’s $142.8 million water supply plan entails construction of a dam at the Ragged Mountain Reservoir to increase water storage from 464 million to 2.19 billion gallons. To fill the reservoir to its new capacity, a pipeline from the South Fork Reservoir is to be built.

Charlottesville’s City Council and the Board of Supervisors unanimously passed resolutions in June to support expansion of the Ragged Mountain Reservoir and to form a task force to examine the possibility of also dredging.

Advocates of dredging the silt-filled reservoir say it could have many possible benefits, including improving and boosting the water supply, increasing recreational opportunities and improving the habitat for indigenous species.
Supervisor Sally H. Thomas will chair the task force, representing the League of Women Voters.

The group’s first meeting will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Aug. 12. It will feature a guest speaker, David Hirschman, author of several planning studies on the South Fork Reservoir. The meeting is open to the public and will be held in Room 241 of the County Office Building at 401 McIntire Road.

The task force members are:
-- Sally H. Thomas, task force chairwoman, League of Women Voters (and Albemarle County Board of Supervisors member);
-- Holly Edwards, Charlottesville City Council;
-- Mark Fletcher, citizen from University of Virginia with recreational interests;
-- Mike Gaffney, Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority Board of Directors;
-- Tom Jones, citizen representing adjoining property owners to the reservoir;
-- Karen Joyner, Ivy Creek Foundation;
-- Chris Lee, Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce;
-- John Martin, Rivanna River Basin Commission;
-- Wren Olivier, Piedmont Group of the Sierra Club;
-- Liz Palmer, Albemarle County Service Authority Board of Directors;
-- Dennis S. Rooker, Albemarle County Board of Supervisors;
-- Ridge Schuyler, The Nature Conservancy; and
-- Dede Smith, Citizens for a Sustainable Water Plan."

(Brandon Shulleeta, The Daily Progress, August 5, 2008)