Monday, March 9, 2009

Who Holds All the Cards Again?

Last week, in an interview with a reporter talking about the future of the Ragged Mountain and Sourth Fork Rivanna Reservoirs, I made the offhand comment that "I hate to say it, but we hold all the cards here" -- "We" being the City of Charlottesville, which owns the reservoirs in question and must, as a matter of fact, approve any changes to those bodies of water (and their surrounding natural areas) as we work to accommodate our region's long-term water supply needs. I meant that comment as a statement about the disposition of the reservoirs themselves, not as a sweeping reflection on the water supply plan in general, which has many moving parts to it and is under no one body's control. Between the City of Charlottesville, Albemarle County, the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority, the Albemarle County Service Authority, and various other local, state and federal agencies, no one entity "holds all the cards" when it comes to our water supply future. It's important for all of us (including me) to keep that in mind.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The meaning of your comment seemed clearly directed at the disposition of the reservoirs, not to the water supply over all. I'm sorry some might have taken it that way however, and so am glad you've clarified the statement.

Anyone who's been partially quoted, or had a statement taken out of context, knows that's one of the biggest challenges in public life!