A bill introduced into the Virginia General Assembly by State Senator Richard Stuart of Westmoreland effectively threatens to end Caroline County’s campaign to withdraw millions of gallons of water a day from the Rappahannock River and discharge the remainder into the Mattaponi. Senate Bill 923 would effectively prevent any locality from withdrawing surface water from one major river basin and releasing it into another major river basin.
Stuart, who represents Caroline in the General Assembly, introduced the bill on January 6.
If passed, this bill could prove the greatest obstacle yet to Caroline’s plan to use surface water from the Rappahannock River to meet potential demands for growth. The plan calls for construction of a water intake facility along the Rappahannock River that would pump millions of gallons of water a day along a 35-mile route to residential centers in the Carmel Church, before releasing excess into the Mattaponi.
The proposal has proven controversial amongst stakeholders across the region, with objections raised regarding the potential for environmental impacts on both river basins. Actions to facilitate the project through the seizure of a family’s farm land along the Rappahannock through eminent domain have further added to dissent both within and outside the county.
Caroline officials have actively sought a permit from the Department of Environmental Quality to withdraw surface water for more than a decade.
While they publically cite the need for drinking water to serve a growing population base as the entire justification for their petition, the county’s original application sought a withdrawal of up to 13.9 million gallons of water a day with some of that volume earmarked for industrial cooling.
The application was subsequently amended to seek 9 million gallons per day and remove the industrial cooling references after public outcry to the idea of the county using the promise of surface water to court the construction of data centers.
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