Myth vs. Science

Among all of the misinformed assertions made during the course of the water supply debate, one of my favorites was that clear-cutting a mature forest and planting "replacement" saplings elsewhere is actually GOOD for the environment because new, growing trees absorb more carbon from the air than existing trees. An intriguing theory, but science tells us otherwise. To wit:

Planting New Forests Can't Match Saving Old Ones in Cutting Greenhouse Gases, Study Finds -- New York Times

Old Forests Capture Plenty of Carbon -- Nature News

Old Growth Forests Are Valuable Carbon Sinks -- Environmental Network News

Major Breakthrough in the Water Supply Debate

Today the City of Charlottesville released a follow-up report from engineering firm Black & Veatch on the feasibility and cost of renovating and expanding the existing Ragged Mountain Dam -- a key component of a more ecologically- and economically-sensible water supply solution for our region. It's a very technical report, but the gist of it is that concerns raised by a recent peer review did not turn out to be "deal-breakers" and addressing those concerns will not add but $1 million or so to the dam renovation project. We can now say with authority that phasing in the new water supply system is a financially and technologically viable approach. This is a major breakthrough in the water supply debate. In response to public and media inquiries about the report issued today, I have prepared the following statement. It is issued in my name only, not on behalf of City Council, the City of Charlottesville, or the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority Board (on which I sit).

***************************

Personal Statement on Black & Veatch Report – 12/15/10

by Dave Norris

On September 20, 2010, Charlottesville City Council voted unanimously in favor of a water supply plan that called for the phased construction of a higher dam at the Ragged Mountain Reservoir, with an initial increase of 13 feet. Through phasing in the expansion of the Ragged Mountain Reservoir, the City and County would avoid burdening today’s ratepayers with millions of dollars of unnecessary debt and avoid causing unnecessary ecological destruction at the Ragged Mountain Natural Area. According to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), a 13-foot rise in the dam combined with dredging of the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir would guarantee enough water for our growing region for at least 40 years to come.

Council’s September 20 resolution left unanswered whether the higher Ragged Mountain dam should come in the form of a new earthen dam or a renovation/ expansion of the existing concrete dam. Since that vote, we have learned that it’s impractical, from a cost and engineering perspective, to construct a new earthen dam in phases. Today we learned with authority from Black & Veatch, one of the world’s leading engineering firms, that expanding the existing concrete dam remains not only a viable approach, but also quite a cost-effective one. Keep in mind that 20% of the world’s population that’s on public water relies on a water supply system either designed, constructed or supported by Black & Veatch. This firm has extensive experience and expertise in the field of dam design and construction.

In 2006, the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors and Charlottesville City Council both voted unanimously in favor of a permit application to DEQ that explicitly allowed the option of phasing in construction of the Ragged Mountain Dam. That permit application was subsequently approved by DEQ. As stated on pages 58 and 59 of the permit support document,

Phasing is the ability of an alternative to be implemented in logical and cost-effective increments, rather than all at once, in order to improve efficiency, conserve resources, and minimize costs and mitigate the impact on customer rate increases….

[T]he early phases of the project must accomplish two goals:

1. Eliminate the dam safety issue at the existing Ragged Mountain dams; and

2. Provide adequate safe yield at a manageable cost for a reasonable initial period.

If the RMR [Ragged Mountain Reservoir] Alternative is implemented, the first element of the project could be to construct a replacement dam to an initial height that would significantly increase existing yield, but that would be short of the ultimate 45-foot increase. This would accomplish both stated objectives.

Construction of the dam's first phase would produce adequate yield to cover an interim period while avoiding the greater capital cost associated with future needs. The dam would be raised to its full height in the future when more users create additional demand and those additional ratepayers can share the cost….

In summary, RMR can be divided into two phased capital projects spanning the planning horizon and can be built when needed to match demands over time.

[emphasis added]

This is precisely the approach endorsed by all five City Councilors on September 20. It’s important to note that to this day, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality has never disallowed this option.

Given that the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors and the Charlottesville City Council have both already voted in favor of a permit application that includes the option of phasing in construction of a higher Ragged Mountain dam; given our mutual desire to provide long-term water security for our region in the most fiscally- and environmentally-responsible manner; and given what we now know about the feasibility, and the fiscal and environmental advantages, of renovating and expanding the existing Ragged Mountain dam, it seems that a positive and mutually-beneficial resolution of the water supply issue may finally be at hand.

I hope we can all agree to move forward in due haste to implement the approach set forth by Black & Veatch. We have an excellent opportunity now to address the dam safety issues at Ragged Mountain and start expanding our long-term water supply. The bidding environment is very favorable and there are state deadlines to meet. Let’s get to work.

Black & Veatch

The City of Charlottesville has been engaged with an engineering firm named Black & Veatch to explore a more cost-effective and environmentally-friendly solution for our water supply. Amazingly, 20% of the world's population that's on public water is served by a water supply system designed, constructed or supported by Black & Veatch. These people know what they're doing. Click on the link below for more info.

Black & Veatch - Water

Complete Streets (aka the Car is No Longer King)

At our last City Council meeting on November 15, 2010, Charlottesville adopted a "Complete Streets Resolution," officially marking a paradigm shift in the way we design City streets so as to better and more safely accommodate all modes of transportation -- cars, buses, bicyclists, pedestrians, etc. As a result of the passage of this resolution, it is now City policy that all street construction, maintenance, and design/redesign adhere to sustainable "Complete Streets" guidelines and thereby improve access for all users. The full text of the resolution is as follows:

"WHEREAS, “Complete Streets” are defined as roadways that enable safe and convenient access for all users, including bicyclists, children, persons with disabilities, motorists, movers of commercial goods, pedestrians, users of public transportation and seniors; and

WHEREAS, “Sustainable Complete Streets” are defined as Complete Streets with elements of design, construction and operation that also serve environmental sustainability; and

WHEREAS, streets that support and invite multiple uses, including safe, active and ample space for pedestrians, bicycles, and public transportation, are more conducive to the public life and efficient movement of people than streets designed primarily to move automobiles and trucks; and

WHEREAS, promoting pedestrian, bicycle and public transportation travel as an alternative to the automobile reduces negative environmental impacts, promotes healthy living, and is less costly to the commuter; and

WHEREAS, the full integration of all modes of travel in the design of streets and highways will increase the capacity and efficiency of the road network, reduce traffic congestion by improving mobility options, limit greenhouse gas emissions, and improve the general quality of life; and

WHEREAS, many studies show that when roads are better designed for bicycling, walking and transit use, more people do so; and

WHEREAS, the design and construction of new roads and facilities should anticipate future demand for biking, walking, and other alternative transportation facilities and not preclude the provision of future improvements; and

WHEREAS, Complete Streets are supported by the Institute of Traffic Engineers, and American Planning Association, and many other transportation planning and public health professionals;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Charlottesville hereby establishes and adopts a sustainable CompleteStreets Policy whereby all street projects, including design, planning, reconstruction, rehabilitation, maintenance, or operations by the City of Charlottesville shall be designed and executed in a balanced, responsible and equitable way to accommodate and encourage travel by bicyclists, public transportation vehicles and their passengers, and pedestrians of all ages and abilities;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City shall provide for the needs of drivers, public transportation vehicles and patrons, bicyclists, and pedestrians of all ages and abilities in all planning, programming, design, construction, reconstruction, retrofit, operations, and maintenance activities and products; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City shall view all transportation improvements as opportunities to improve safety, access, and mobility for all travelers in the City and recognizes bicycle, pedestrian and transit modes as integral elements of the transportation system."

Local Biologist Argues for an Ecologically Responsible Water Supply Plan

Dan Bieker is a local biologist who teaches field ornithology at Piedmont Virginia Community College and is the former president of the Ivy Creek Foundation. He recently penned some comments about the need to strike a better ecological balance in our planning for a long-term community water supply and I am reprinting his words here with permission.

Many factors are interwoven in water supply issues, and environmental concerns are certainly important ones. To many, it’s been alarming that so little attention has been given to ecological consequences of a full height dam at Ragged Mountain Natural Area (RMNA). Besides the loss of trees (150 - 180 acres removed), also noted are: loss of wetlands, negative effects of forest fragmentation, widening of roads, spread of invasive plants, and other factors.

While these factors are difficult to quantify, and well-meaning input has come from various sources, it’s not misleading to note that impacts to the area will be more than the loss of trees.

Habitat Loss:

The contiguous nature and maturity of the forest composing RMNA and surrounding lands affords protection for many uncommon (and declining) plant and animal species. No one has contended that the area is 100% canopy enclosed - indeed several roads, driveways and other openings exist, although extensive forest interior remains. The most blatant fragmentation is Interstate 64; while its existence for the public good might be justified, it obviously represents a degradation of the native habitat. Throughout the environment, negative effects of habitat disturbance and fragmentation are an ever increasing problem. In 2004, an Albemarle County Work Group composed of area biologists, UVA research professors, and VA Dept. of Forestry personnel issued a biological assessment of the County - in it the threats to Albemarle’s forests are well documented. Large tracts of mature forest are a noted habitat type of special concern - indeed, the Ragged Mountain forest is included in a list of special places recommended as most deserving of preservation. Questions concerning the degree of impact from proposed construction are justified - however, inferences that the impact will be minimal or that not enough forest interior exists to be affected, are not.

Expanded Reservoir Pool:

While the existing reservoir itself is a fragmentation, the forest directly abutting the water does not impose the same effect that a terrestrial opening does. Initial filling of the expanded bowl is proposed via the Sugar Hollow pipeline (which will impose additional demands on the Moormans River during this time) and could take several years - leaving a large swath of opening around the lake, much decreasing the interior nature of the surrounding woodland. It’s true that over time the disruption will heal, but it will take decades. The direct loss of habitat and diminishment of forest interior will be permanent. Most of the same species that are there now will continue to be there - more of the common species, but fewer of the more rare and decreasing ones.

Roads:

It’s been noted that all new roads will be designed to be submerged by the final pool height (45 feet above current level). However, many questions remain concerning the degree of disturbance to existing roads that will be necessary to accommodate heavy machinery. Sections of an old service road near Ednam Forest will need to be accessed for interstate upgrades, and some modifications will need to be made to Reservoir Road (although that road will be affected no matter which water plan is adopted).

Stream Flows/Health:

Stream flows are a critical component of water supply, and rightly so. Since stream flows in the Moormans River are affected by how the pipeline from the Sugar Hollow Reservoir (SHR) is managed, increased storage capacity in downstream reservoirs through dredging and/or increased dam height at Ragged Mountain will allow for greater flexibility in managing flows, until or if a different pipeline is deemed necessary. Minimum flows vs. natural flows are an important distinction - imposed definitions for minimum are by necessity subjective; natural is what it is. Critical to determining natural flows are accurate stream flow monitors both above and directly below the SHR, which do not as of yet exist. Assessing stream flow data for infrastructure planning purposes would be better assisted by that data, rather than a complicated set of parameters from gauges on other rivers. Central to river health, as well, is how much water is consumed. Whether taken directly from the river or moved to storage, the natural cycle is disrupted. In that regard, pro-active, technology based conservation could be a huge factor, both in degree of infrastructure that's necessary, and river health. In 40 - 50 years, using the (arguably inflated) demand projections, a 25% conservation factor would mean approximately 4 million gallons a day less water drawn from the river system, and re-released as treated effluent. Pros and cons exist to all aspects of water supply options, though certainly phased, as-needed infrastructure development would better allow for conservation benefits and incentive, and potentially far less impact to RMNA.

As the 2004 Biodiversity study points out: as the landscape becomes more developed - more roads, housing, infrastructure - our remaining forests and other undisturbed areas become even more critical as repositories of biodiversity and the ecological services they provide. Of course we necessarily make demands on the environment for our survival, but we have long passed the point where we can do so without just and demonstrable cause, especially on a project of the scale being considered. Whether the environmental damage at RMNA is deemed justifiable or not, we’d do well as responsible stewards to accurately assess ecological impacts, and not undervalue the few wild places that remain.

Sierra Club Speaks Out on Water Supply Plan

The Sierra Club is the oldest and largest grassroots environmental organization in the United States. Its members do their homework and take well-reasoned positions on critical environmental issues. I am pleased to reprint, verbatim, a statement that the Piedmont Group of the Sierra Club issued this evening on our Community Water Supply Plan:

"On September 20, 2010, the Charlottesville City Council passed a resolution calling for amendments to the adopted local water supply plan. Elements of the amended plan supported by the City include an aggressive water conservation program, capacity-restoring dredging of the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir, phased raising of the dam at Ragged Mountain and a new water transmission pipeline from the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir to the Ragged Mountain Reservoir. The Piedmont Group of the Sierra Club endorses the City's amendments to the local water supply plan, with the additional stipulation that construction of this new water transmission pipeline should begin only if and when facts indicate the new transmission line will be needed."

What's at Stake at Ragged Mountain

One of the main reasons so many people are opposed to a huge (and, arguably, unnecessary) expansion of the Ragged Mountain Reservoir is that it will result in the loss of up to 60,000 trees over 200 acres of biologically-rich forest at the Ragged Mountain Natural Area. New & enlarged roads would have to be built through the Natural Area in order to construct the I-64 embankment and other components of the reservoir expansion project, resulting in a significant level of forest fragmentation. The City's newly-adopted water supply plan does call for a modest expansion of the Ragged Mountain Reservoir, but one that (at least at the outset) does not require an embankment at I-64 and impacts far fewer forested acres.

If you have never been out to the Ragged Mountain Natural Area, please consider heading over there for a hike on one of the beautiful fall days that lies ahead. I have hiked the reservoir trail dozens of times over the years and it's a lovely way to "get away from it all" while staying quite close to home. The Ivy Creek Foundation manages the Ragged Mountain Natural Area for the City of Charlottesville and describes the area thusly:

The Ragged Mountain Natural Area near Charlottesville, Virginia, is a beautiful 980-acre forest of mature oak, hickory, poplar, pine, and maple trees with two lakes and more than four miles of shoreline. Seven miles of trail lead through majestic forest, along rugged terrain, and through areas rich with wildlife and offer a unique opportunity for wilderness hiking within minutes of town.

The area is rich in birdlife with native woodpeckers, yellow-bellied sapsuckers, and northern flickers in the winter. In the spring, keep an eye out for songbirds migrating through such as blue-winged and Tennessee warblers. Fall brings the migrant blackpoll and bay-breasted warblers as well as hermit thrush. Nesting neotropical songbirds include pine, yellow-throated, and yellow warblers, northern parula, yellow-breasted chat, chipping and field sparrows, and red-eyed and yellow-throated vireos are best seen in early spring before the foliage gets too heavy.

Other wildlife includes the upland chorus and northern cricket frogs are in residence here, as is the American toad and spring peeper. Several species of bats are known to hunt insects here including eastern pipistrelle, evening bat, and bag brown bat. Many, many species of mammals live here. Among the large mammals, the white-tailed deer is particularly abundant. Occasional visits by black bear and sightings of bobcat are also not uncommon.

A more thorough description of flora and fauna that can be found at the Ragged Mountain Natural Area can be seen here.

A guide for local birders, published by the Monticello Bird Club in 2003, notes that one of the reasons the Ragged Mountain Natural Area is such an inviting habitat for wildlife (and birds in particular) is the fact that the forest there is largely intact. I quote:

Fertile soils and relative non-disturbance for the past 100 years have produced a mature oak-poplar forest with shaded ravines, fern-dappled coves, and abundant wildlife.... A 2002 study of the effects of forest fragmentation on nesting success of songbirds in 8 sites in the Piedmont found Ragged Mountain to be the most productive for Wood Thrushes with 64 nests and the greatest number of fledglings. Dr. Etterson of the Smithsonian Center for Migratory Birds attributes the success to the relative maturity of the intact forest at Ragged Mountain.

If there's any doubt as to the myriad benefits of preserving as much forest habitat (and specifically, contiguous forest habitat) as possible, check out the following passages from the "Biological Resources and Biodiversity" section of Albemarle County's own 2006 Comprehensive Plan:

Habitat Fragmentation

The major causes, world-wide, for the reduction of species are destruction and fragmentation of habitat. Other causes include introduction of exotic and non-native species and over-exploitation.

Here, we are concerned with fragmentation, which is of particular concern to Albemarle. Fragmentation is the carving-up of habitats into ever-smaller areas, with the accompanying lack of connections, called “corridors,” among the fragments. While fragmentation is known to be biologically and ecologically destructive to biodiversity, the prediction of effects with a high degree of certainty can be problematical, requiring expert assessment.

Benefits of Unbroken Habitats

Conventional wisdom dictates that the more contiguous a habitat or ecosystem, the greater number and variety of birds, animals, and plants it will support. Also, it is often assumed that unbroken habitats provide continuous protective pathways for the safe movement or migrations of animals or expansions of plants. These statements, however, can be misleading, as they apply mainly to species that are at least somewhat obligate to the habitat or ecosystem in question. Whereas fragmentation can be devastating to those species, it can also actually increase the total number of species. But the downside to that apparent benefit is that those latter species are likely to be what ecologists call “weedy” or “opportunistic,” and hence undesirable (for example the cowbird, which is a nest parasite on warblers and other birds and is a major factor in their decline.)

Forests, in particular, are an important asset for Albemarle. Many birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and aquatic species depend upon this dominant habitat for their survival. Additionally, the protection afforded by the forest’s leafy canopy helps improve air quality and modulates microclimate. Forested areas also protect and maintain the purity of groundwater and stream and river water. Forests serve as filters to trap sediment and absorb pollutants from overland runoff. Loss of topsoil and silt into surface waters can smother the gravel bottoms that are breeding habitats of most of our stream fishes and the aquatic insect larvae that are the food for these fishes. Forests along rivers and streams help make waterways livable for many species. For example, many shrubs, grasses, and vines grow well in moist and fertile soils of large unbroken forested areas, but may not do well elsewhere. Plant material falling into the water also provides a food source. Shade from the tree canopy helps maintain a low water temperature, and tree roots help stabilize the bank and provide shelter.

Finally, forests contribute to Albemarle’s natural beauty, complement the cultural resources of the area and enhance the County as a desirable place to live, recreate, and visit.

Effect of Habitat Fragmentation on Species

The decline of many plant and animal species in Albemarle can be attributed to large-scale tree clearing, or by development activities such as woodland subdivisions, power lines, and roads. The habitat fragments that these activities produce differ from the original habitat in two important ways:

1) the center of a fragmented area is closer to the fragment’s edge;
2) the amount of edge relative to the amount of interior habitat is dramatically increased.

Because of fragmentation, the center of the habitat is closer to the edge, which exposes the species within to increased predation and competition. Furthermore, the habitat’s edge represents a dynamic environment into which many other species can invade. Thus, fragmentation not only increases the number of predators within the edge, but some of these predators compete for the same food supply as species within the habitat. For instance, predatory animals may decimate insect and amphibian populations in edge areas.

Forest fragmentation also reduces the ability of a species to move freely across a habitat to forage, to find mates, or to disperse to neighboring habitats. The resulting isolation and reduced population numbers may, in turn, lead to loss of genetic variability, which reduces a species’ viability and its ability to deal with environmental fluctuations, disease and predation. Also, many plant species that rely on animals to transfer seeds are also affected, which can have widespread ecosystem consequences.

The interactive sequence of events described in the preceding paragraph is termed an “environmental cascade,” which does not end at the level of the habitat. Some regional effects of forest clearing and fragmentation, for example, include changes in reflected solar radiation, air and soil temperature, wind, and incidence of fire. Plant cover offers shade and protection of soils, particularly in forest communities, which maintain relatively cool, moist, and shaded environments during spring and summer days, and trap heat during the night. Effects of largescale clearing and development are currently having nation-wide to global ramifications, with marked changes in species diversity and ecosystem services.

Very well-said.

For all of these reasons and more, I have long believed we need a water supply solution that provides enough water for human consumption and improves the ecology of our rivers and streams, but not at the expense of substantial and avoidable destruction & fragmentation of forest habitat. In my opinion, the water supply plan adopted by City Council last week strikes a much better balance in this regard than the plan from 2006 that it replaced.

Water Costs

The water supply resolution adopted unanimously by City Council this Monday night would result in a plan that not only provides abundant water for our region for 40+ years to come, but also minimizes destruction of our forest ecology, promotes water conservation and efficiency, improves stream flows to our rivers, upgrades our water distribution and treatment infrastructure, and does all of this at substantially less cost to our citizens than the plan it replaces.

If you're not yet convinced that there's a better, cheaper way to meet our long-term water storage needs, let's take a quick look at the numbers.

To enhance the storage capacity of our water system, the City's newly-adopted plan would allow for a scenario in which we dredge the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir, repair the spillway at the Lower Ragged Mountain Dam, and increase the height of that dam to expand the Ragged Mountain Reservoir by 13 feet.

Recently, two different dredging experts (one a dredging equipment manufacturer and one a local dredging company) independently submitted information indicating that dredging the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir is a relatively straightforward and small-scale operation that can be accomplished for well under $20 million in net costs, if we use a market-based approach whereby we only dredge as much fill as we can sell or use at any given time. Once we dredge the reservoir we'll then want to periodically do some maintenance dredging to preserve its water storage capacity. We won't know more exact costs of dredging until we solicit bids from dredging companies, but let's just assume, for the sake of argument, a total net cost for this work of $22 million.

Earlier this year, the City commissioned a study to determine the cost and feasibility of renovating and expanding the existing Lower Ragged Mountain Dam. The resulting report offered up a preliminary cost range of $9.9 million-$13.1 million to fix the spillway and increase the reservoir by 13 feet. A "relatively small" additional outlay of funds would be required to shore up the base of the dam to allow an additional 29-foot increase if it were ever deemed necessary. For the sake of argument, let's assume a final price tag for this project of $14 million. A one-time capital project like this (as opposed to an ongoing operation like dredging) would be financed with 30-year bonds, so 30 years of interest payments on those bonds would bring its actual price tag closer to $28 million.

In summary: $22 million for dredging, $28 million for renovating and expanding the dam. Total approximate price tag of storage options allowed for in the City's plan: $50 million.

That sounds like a lot of money, and it is. But consider the alternative.

The original water supply plan, which some are arguing is still the preferred course, would have us build a massive new dam at Ragged Mountain. The new earthen dam would increase the size of that reservoir by 42 feet and result in the clear-cutting of up to 60,000 trees across 200 acres of biologically-rich forest; no dredging of the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir is envisioned in that plan. This new dam, including the I-64 embankment that it would necessitate, has been estimated to cost $40.771 million. We've already spent $2.92 million on engineering and design for this dam, leaving a remaining price tag of approximately $37.85 million. Adding in 30 years of interest payments would bring the new dam's actual remaining cost closer to $75 million.

To recap: $50 million for the City's newly-adopted plan vs. $75 million for the plan it replaces.

These are all approximate numbers, and further work is necessary to flesh out the various storage options and secure the proper regulatory permits. But you see my basic point. If we can save our citizens tens of millions of dollars and still provide 40+ years of water security for our region, while significantly reducing damage to our natural environment in the process, don't we owe it to our community to pursue such a course of action?

A Better Path Forward on Water

City Council is on the verge of making some major decisions regarding our City-owned reservoirs and our region’s long-term water supply plan.

Many hard questions have been asked about that plan, and we have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in studies to examine our alternatives. Let’s take a quick look at what we now know.

First, we now know that we don’t need to build a new dam at Ragged Mountain. The existing dam is in excellent shape (save for an inadequate spillway) and renovating/expanding that dam will save us millions of dollars vs. building a massive new dam.

Second, we now know that dredging the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir would be much cheaper and will produce more storage capacity than we once thought.

Third, we now know that the original projection of water demand significantly overstated how much water we’d be using today, and very likely overstated how much water we’d be using 50 years from now. We also now know that projecting long-term demand for water is an inexact science at best. Thanks to advances in water conservation and efficiency, we do know we’re getting much smarter about the way we use water.

Given what we now know, I propose we immediately take the following steps:

1. Get moving on dredging the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir, using a market-oriented approach in which we only dredge as much fill as we can sell or use at any given time. It’s the quickest way to produce real water gains and guard against another drought; frankly, we should have been dredging the reservoir all along.

2. Repair the spillway at the Ragged Mountain Dam. While we’ve got the heavy equipment in place to do that, add 13 feet to the dam (which would increase the size of the reservoir but not so much that it encroaches on I-64) and shore up the dam’s base to accommodate additional height in the future if necessary.

Through these two steps, we are projected to meet all of our water needs for at least 40 years and save tens of millions of dollars over the current plan. This approach will also give us the ability to assess actual long-term trends in water consumption and give us the nimbleness to readily add capacity if we need it – instead of incurring a huge amount of debt now for capacity we don’t know we’ll need.

Finally, this approach will allow us to minimize devastation of the forest ecology at the Ragged Mountain Natural Area. The current plan calls for up to 60,000 trees across 200 acres of biologically-rich forest – an area that’s been called one of the crown jewels of our regional forest system -- to be clear-cut. Yes, there are plans in place to plant replacement trees elsewhere in the County, but as an ecologically-minded, tree-friendly community, we should do what we can to minimize destruction of our natural environment when there are better alternatives available. Especially when those alternatives also happen save our citizens a tremendous amount of money.

Public Hearing on Water Supply

Next Monday, Sept. 20, there will be a public hearing at our City Council meeting (7pm in Council chambers, City Hall) on how best to proceed with regard to our long-term water supply plan. It's your last best chance to put in your 2 cents before Council decides what path to take, so please join us if you feel so inclined. On a related note, this morning I heard a fascinating presentation by the largest dredging equipment manufacturer in the U.S. on the cost and feasibility of dredging the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir in "small bites" over a period of years, to remove the sediment that's settled there over the past few decades and keep ahead of future siltation. Turns out doing so is quite feasible and would likely save many millions of dollars vs. dredging the reservoir at all once.

For more info. on today's discussion:
www.nbc29.com/Global/story.asp?S=13158485

Big Leap for LEAP

Huge news coming out of LEAP today: "The Local Energy Alliance Program based in Charlottesville has been awarded $1.9 million by the United States Department of Energy to improve energy and water efficiency in low-income multifamily housing in the Charlottesville-Albemarle and Hampton Roads communities." As Vice Chair of LEAP's Board, I couldn't be prouder. P.S. our Executive Director Cynthia Adams is a rock star.

Put Solar Panels Back on the Roof of the White House!

I'm very happy to hear of this effort: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/23/bring-solar-panels-back-t_n_550059.html

In the meantime, if any solar energy company wants to donate a solar array for the roof of Charlottesville City Hall, let's talk!

Why Does a Salad Cost More Than a Big Mac?

I bet this has something to do with it:

(Chart courtesy PCRM, h/t Waldo J.)

Jan. 19 Community Meeting on Clean Energy Jobs

from Ryan Doyle of the Sierra Club Clean Energy Jobs Campaign:

Dear Friend,

As you read this, America is at an energy crossroads. Our economy remains dependent on dirty energy sources that are losing jobs, threatening our national security, and polluting our environment. Virginia families are struggling with unemployment at an extreme high, while every day we’re sending $1.2 billion overseas for foreign oil and spewing millions of tons of pollution that threaten our climate.

The good news is that we have solutions. That’s why we here in Virginia are joining a national campaign to pass a strong clean energy plan through Congress this spring that will bring 45,000 new clean energy jobs to Virginia, strengthen national security, and limit dangerous pollution that causes climate change.

We can make this happen this spring, but we need YOUR help. The best way to learn more and get involved is to come to our Community Meeting for Clean Energy Jobs this Tuesday night here in Charlottesville. RSVP right away and bring a friend to:

Sierra Club’s Community Meeting for Clean Energy Jobs

Tuesday January 19th, 7:00-8:00pm

Charlottesville Community Design Center “City Space”

100 5th Street NE, Charlottesville
(Refreshments Provided)

We have a unique opportunity this spring to pass strong clean energy legislation, but clean energy champions like our U.S. Representative, Tom Perriello, are feeling the heat from big coal and oil companies. He needs our help NOW to back up his strong support for clean energy investments for America.

So please join us on Tuesday January 19th at 7:00pm. With special, local guest speaker JR Tolbert of Environment Virginia attending, you can expect to find out how you can make a real difference to support congressional legislation that would bring Virginia increased prosperity and reduce pollution at the same time. Also joining us will be Cynthia Adams, Climate Protection Program Coordinator for the City of Charlottesville, who will talk about an exciting new local nonprofit called LEAP, which will help grow clean energy jobs in our community.

RSVP here to let us know you can make it, and bring a friend!

Warm Regards,

Ryan

Ryan Doyle
Sierra Club Field Organizer
Sierra Club Clean Energy Jobs Campaign
Charlottesville, VA
Office: 434-984-4655 x 227
Cell: 218-390-9561
rdoyle@greencorps.org

Heck of a Fortnight

The last two weeks have been a bit of a blur, and so much has transpired in the news that some important and interesting developments in the life of our City have not gotten the attention they surely deserved.

For example, on Nov. 2 Charlottesville announced the largest expansion of City parkland since 1987 (thanks to the largest private donation of land to the people of Charlottesville since 1974), expanding Forest Hills Park by 20% in one fell swoop. Thank you to Charlie Armstrong and his colleagues at Southern Development for making that happen; stay tuned for news on more parkland acquisition opportunities in the very near future.

That same night, Cville City Council unanimously approved Winneba, Ghana, as our fourth Sister City. A very special unannounced guest joined us all the way from Ghana for the public hearing -- our friend Joe Baami, the chair of Winneba's own Sister City Commission. What a wonderful surprise!

Also on Nov. 2, City Council approved the formal agreement establishing the new Local Energy Alliance Program (LEAP), which aims to produce 20-40% energy savings in 30-50% of Charlottesville-Albemarle homes and businesses in the coming decade (and will create many new "green jobs" in the process). Huge potential there.

The next day was Election Day. A big night for our City Democratic candidates, and a big night for Republican candidates almost everywhere else. (Interesting piece of vainglorious trivia: now that City Council elections are held concurrently with state/federal elections, more voters are participating in the selection of City Councilors than ever before; as a result, my 6,300 votes on Nov. 3 were the most ever received by a candidate for Charlottesville City Council. It's a record that's likely to be broken in the not-too-distant future, but for now it at least gives me marginally more standing when I try to pull rank with my children. My cat, on the other hand, seems entirely unimpressed.)

Last Tuesday, Nov. 10, the Charlottesville Planning Commission gave a welcome and gratifying "thumbs up" to two separate projects that I have helped to shepherd for several years now. One vote granted approval of a site plan for the new YMCA next to Charlottesville High School, and the other vote granted approval of a special use permit for the new SRO (Single Room Occupancy) supportive housing apartments for the homeless, on 4th St. NW. Once their doors are opened to the public, both of these facilities will positively affect the lives of many, many local residents in the years and decades to come.

Last Wednesday, Nov. 11, the CRHA (Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority) Redevelopment Committee met to get a status report on the Master Planning process for revitalization of our public housing neighborhoods in Charlottesville. We're about 3/4 of the way through the Master Planning process, and hundreds of public housing residents have been involved in it some form or fashion (by attending community workshops/charettes, participating in site visits to other redeveloped communities, completing resident surveys, taking an urban design class for students at CHS, etc.). We are committed to this NOT becoming another example of top-down urban renewal like Vinegar Hill, and our friends at PHAR are doing an excellent job of keeping everyone accountable to the Residents Bill of Rights that CRHA, PHAR, and City Council all approved before we started work on Master Planning.

Last week, the City announced that we had ended FY'09 with a surplus, despite the woeful economic climate and despite Council's decision not to increase the property tax rate last year. Chalk it up to City departments tightening their belts and our Commissioner of Revenue and Treasurer's offices doing an excellent job in collecting taxes owed to the City. One more reason we continue to be one of the only cities in the country to enjoy the highest possible bond rating from the leading bond agencies.

Tomorrow, Nov. 16, City Council will be asked to give the green light to a major environmental improvement initiative that too has been years in the making -- the $3.2 million Meadow Creek Stream Restoration Project. It's one of the largest ecological restoration projects in our City's history and I'm excited to see it moving forward.

That's just a sampling of things that have been going on here in Charlottesville, Virginia the last couple of weeks. Heck of a fortnight indeed.

***I would be remiss if I did not put in one more plug for this important effort, which has largely overshadowed much of everything else in Cville the last two weeks. Let's hope it ends with a positive resolution.

Toward a More Bike-Friendly and Pedestrian-Friendly Charlottesville

Today, Kristin Szakos and I unveiled a set of proposals (based on input we solicited from local citizens and bicycle/pedestrian advocacy groups) to make Charlottesville a more bicycle-friendly and pedestrian-friendly community. This is an issue that Kristin has a real passion for and I'm looking forward to her leadership in this arena. For more info., see http://www.yourcharlottesville.org/bikesafety.php.

Cville City Schools Recognized for Leadership in Energy Efficiency

This has been a busy summer for Charlottesville's clean energy efforts. Following on the visit by Gov. Kaine to unveil SmartGrid Charlottesville on June 16, the visit by President Obama's top environmental advisors to highlight our new clean energy financing program on June 23, the announcement of a highly-competitive $500,000 grant from the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance for our new Local Energy Alliance Program on July 20, and the positive plug in this morning's Wall Street Journal, this afternoon brought yet more exciting news: five of our City schools (Johnson, Jackson-Via, Venable, Clark, and Burnley-Moran) have received the prestigious "ENERGY STAR" designation from the Environmental Protection Agency in recognition of their superior efforts to reduce energy consumption. These are the first schools in our region to qualify for this honor. Thanks and congratulations go to the many City and School staff who made this day possible, particularly Lance Stewart with Public Works and Assistant Superintendent Jim Henderson of the City Schools.

From the press release:

Energy conservation efforts initiated at Charlottesville's schools have included utility tracking and monthly analysis of all school facilities; upgrading to energy-saving lighting fixtures and low wattage lighting; installing occupancy sensors; re-commissioning and upgrading less energy efficient HVAC system equipment; utilization of building automation for lighting and HVAC systems (including after-hours set-back operations on all building temperature controls); and installation of low-flow and automatic flush valves.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awards the ENERGY STAR, the national symbol for superior energy efficiency and environmental protection, to signify that a building’s energy performance rates in the top 25 percent of facilities nationwide. Commercial buildings that earn the ENERGY STAR use an average of 40 percent less energy than typical buildings and also release 35 percent less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

EPA’s national energy performance rating system provides a 1-100 scale that helps organizations assess how efficiently their buildings use energy relative to similar buildings nationwide. A building that scores a rating of 75 or higher is eligible for the ENERGY STAR. The scoring system not only accounts for energy use and size, but also the building’s usage, the number of people in it, type of equipment, and hours of operation.

ENERGY STAR was introduced by EPA in 1992 as a voluntary, market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency. For more information about ENERGY STAR visit www.energystar.gov.

(L-R) Johnson Principal Vernon Bock, Assistant Superintendent Jim Henderson, and Lance Stewart of Public Works unveil the new "ENERGY STAR" plaque at Johnson Elementary

Cville Cited in Today's Wall Street Journal as a Pioneer in Clean Energy Financing

Always nice to get mentioned by the national media in the same breath as other localities who are leading the way in promoting clean energy for local residents....

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125064722656442071.html

Responses to Sierra Club Candidate Survey

The general election for City Council is about to shift into higher gear (election day is Nov. 3, with myself and Kristin Szakos on the Democratic ticket), and to that end I share with you my responses to a recent Sierra Club candidate survey on environmental issues -- a policy arena that is obviously near and dear to me, both as a citizen and as an elected official. I encourage you to read Kristin's excellent responses as well: http://kristinforcouncil.blogspot.com/2009/07/sierra-club-questionnaire-response.html

What is your position on the preservation of McIntire Park in its entirety?

I am a strong supporter of our City’s parks and recreation program, and have championed a number of initiatives to expand and enhance parkland/green space in our community and improve recreational opportunities for our families.

McIntire Park, as our City’s largest park, should be the crown jewel of our park system. Instead it has suffered from a failure of imagination and as a result, only a tiny percentage of our population ever sets foot in McIntire Park on a regular basis. The eastern half of the park is reserved almost exclusively for golfers, who are several hundreds in number (out of a combined City-County population of 130,000+). The western half of the park is primarily used by softball and baseball players, most of whom don’t live in the City. While the picnic pavilions, wading pool, Dogwood Carnival, 4th of July fireworks, Dogwood Memorial, etc., do draw occasional visits from local residents, McIntire Park is by and large underused and underappreciated. That is the main reason why there hasn’t been more of an outcry about the plan to pave a major road right through the eastern half of the park. If more local residents had a firsthand appreciation of McIntire Park, if more local residents had a vested personal interest in saving McIntire Park, we would not even think about building the Meadowcreek Parkway. We need to open McIntire Park to the community. In particular, we need to provide opportunities for more CITY residents (especially residents from disadvantaged communities, who have historically felt excluded from the park) to use and enjoy the park as a resource for family recreation, youth enrichment, community-building and appreciation of nature. When I consider any proposed change to McIntire Park -- or any City park, for that matter -- I ask myself if the change will advance these four goals, and do so in a cost-effective manner. I do not believe in rigid adherence to the status quo for McIntire Park, because the status quo has not served the best interests of either the park or our community.

Do you support construction of the parkway in McIntire Park?

No. I have long opposed the Meadowcreek Parkway and have repeatedly voted against it while on Council. I do not believe the Parkway advances the goals I spelled out above for use of park space; furthermore, the Parkway is going to produce an unacceptable level of vehicular congestion in downtown Charlottesville from County cut-through traffic, just as we are trying to make downtown more pedestrian-friendly. If we are going to build more roads in this region, they should be roads designed to carry traffic around our residential neighborhoods and not directly through them.

What is your position on the proposed YMCA in McIntire Park?

I strongly support the YMCA in McIntire Park, not only because it does advance the goals I mentioned above for use of park space, but it also (more importantly) will be an invaluable resource for students at the Charlottesville High School next door. We have a serious need for positive recreational, enrichment and employment opportunities for teens in this community, and locating the YMCA adjacent to our High School (just as the new Boys & Girls Club is located adjacent to our Middle School) will be a big step forward in meeting these needs and countering the negative influences that are otherwise available to our young people out on the streets. Those who argue that an indoor recreation facility will “destroy” McIntire Park, and use patently false claims and divisive rhetoric to back up their assertions, ignore the fact that we already have two other parks with indoor recreation facilities in them (Washington and Tonsler), neither of which has hardly been “destroyed” by those facilities – even though both of those indoor facilities have a much larger relative footprint in their parks than the Y will have in McIntire. Finally, I support the YMCA because it will save the taxpayers of Charlottesville tens of millions of dollars vs. us building and managing our own second indoor aquatic and recreational facility, and thousands of lower-income City residents will be offered free memberships in the Y. Having said all of that, it is essential that the YMCA be well-designed and that any new parking be kept to a minimum, and that public transportation be extended to McIntire Park to reduce the need for parking and make sure all members of our community can enjoy the YMCA and the park.

What would you do to encourage alternative transportation and to improve pedestrian and bicycling safety?

Since I have been on City Council we have added Sunday bus service, expanded bus routes, increased frequency of service to certain neighborhoods, incorporated new real-time technology, and made other improvements to our transit system. Due in large part to these changes, transit ridership has risen dramatically, from approx. 1.5 million trips in 2006 to 2 million trips in 2008. We are now working with our regional partners (Albemarle County, UVa, JAUNT, etc.) to explore establishment of a Regional Transit Authority, which has the potential to significantly expand funding for public transportation and thereby increase ridership even further. I believe a trunk-and-feeder bus system, with a highly-visible, fast, frequent, fare-free “trunk line” connecting our major residential/commercial/employment centers (29 North, UVa, West Main/Downtown, Pantops), combined with a better park-and-ride system and smaller buses running frequent routes into our neighborhoods and feeding into the trunk line, could take transit ridership to an even higher level in our community. As for pedestrian and bicycling safety, I am proud of the fact that City Council allocated $750,000 this past year to new pedestrian safety improvements and created a Pedestrian Safety Committee to identify opportunities for making our City safer for those who are trying to get around on foot, on a bike, in a wheelchair, etc. In recent years we have also increased investment in sidewalks, bicycle trails, and other bike/ped amenities, in part by re-directing surplus funds from our road-paving budget to these kinds of uses. There are more improvements yet to be made (for example, I would like to see us expand our network of dedicated, off-road bike/ped trails), but we are at least moving in the right direction.

The City of Charlottesville has sought to promote marketing of locally produced foods. Are there any steps you believe the City should take to support local production and sale of healthful foods.

The City Market and Farmers in the Park have both been very successful, but both have been operating with a perpetual cloud of uncertainty over their heads with regard to their long-term future. That uncertainty needs to end. We need to secure a permanent home for the City Market at a site that will allow the Market to grow and thrive. We need to figure out a better way to manage/site Farmers in the Park so that it doesn’t have the look and feel of an afterthought. We need to broaden the consumer base for our markets by allowing low-income residents to use EBT cards at the markets; we’re currently exploring a pilot program along those lines. We need to encourage community gardening in more neighborhoods and thereby encourage more of our residents to get involved in growing their own food. I myself have been heavily involved in the effort to transform the old First Christian Church building downtown into a community resource center for the homeless, hungry and disadvantaged; one component of that project will be a community kitchen (“Kay’s Kitchen”) that will support production and distribution of local foods. I am eager to hear other ideas as to how the City can support the burgeoning local-foods movement.

Do you believe the City Council should support the determination of an optimum sustainable population size, such as the one proposed by Advocates for a Sustainable Albemarle Population, and use this information for future planning?

I supported the funding for this study and am pleased that it’s now in progress. I believe ASAP’s effort has been mischaracterized as an effort to create an arbitrary, legally-enforceable cap on population that we cannot grow beyond. Instead, I see it as an effort to better understand the optimum “carrying capacity” of our region’s natural resources, with an eye to understanding how our use of these resources – the choices we make regarding our built environment, our patterns of living and moving and using energy, etc. – impact the quality of life for ourselves and future generations. Decisions regarding growth need to be informed by a thorough understand of how that growth will affect the manner of living to which we’ve become accustomed.

The City of Charlottesville is surrounded by Albemarle County and the environments of the two localities are intertwined. Is there any any environmental issue in which you believe additional City-County cooperation should be sought?

The issue of climate change is one that lends itself naturally to greater collaboration between regional partners; carbon emissions know no jurisdictional boundaries, and we can do more to curb them by working together than by acting separately. I am pleased that the City and County have taken the first steps toward creation of a joint Regional Climate Action Plan, which will hopefully lead to closer cooperation between City and County on a range of emissions-reduction strategies (promotion of green building, energy and water conservation, renewable energy, alternative transportation, preservation of green space, recycling/waste reduction, etc.). This effort will build on the Local Energy Alliance Program (LEAP) which the City and County recently unveiled, an initiative which is putting our region in the forefront both statewide and nationally as a clean energy pioneer. I was very pleased that the City of Charlottesville was named the “Greenest City in Virginia” last year for our size, and we should pursue every opportunity to scale up our environmental sustainability efforts for wider beneficial impact.

Would you support reconsidering the Community Water Supply Plan if the dredging study shows restorative dredging is economically and environmentally feasible?

Yes. I have insisted that the City and County revisit certain assumptions underlying the Community Water Supply Plan, one of which is that dredging is prohibitively costly and unfeasible. We are now conducting a feasibility study to see whether this particular assumption holds water (pardon the pun). If dredging is determined to be economically and environmentally feasible, if we can safely assume that there will be more than a 5% decrease in per-capita water consumption over the next 50 years (which I believe there will be), and if enlarging the size of the pipeline between the South Fork and Ragged Mountain reservoirs will lower the necessary storage capacity of Ragged Mountain, then my hope is that we can avoid building a large new dam at Ragged Mountain and instead simply repair and enlarge the existing dam. This approach would conceivably save the taxpayers/ratepayers a significant amount of money and result in much less environmental destruction.

Will you work to increase parkland acquisition in the City?

Not only will I work to increase parkland acquisition in the City, but I already have. For the first time in memory, this year’s City budget includes funding for parkland acquisition, and we’re about to announce a major gift of parkland from a local developer. I have been working with City staff to identify and prioritize parkland/green space acquisition opportunities and we will be pursuing a variety of strategies (purchase, donation, easement, etc.) to secure as many of these parcels as possible in the coming years. I am not opposed to creative, urban-infill, pedestrian- and transit-oriented development in the City, which I would much rather see than continued suburban sprawl in the County. However, if we are going to adhere to our goal of substantially increasing our tree canopy and enhancing our status as a “Green City,” we cannot stand by and let all of our green space be chewed up by development. We have to be proactive in adding to our inventory of parkland/green space and instituting policies and incentives for private sector efforts to protect and enhance green space as well.

Great Enviro Event in Cville Yesterday

Brian McNeill of the Daily Progress has an excellent recap of yesterday's visit to Charlottesville by President Obama's top environmental advisors, organized by Rep. Tom Perriello. (And thanks to Eileen @ Blue Commonwealth for pointing out Creigh Deeds' role in the whole affair.)

Below: Van Jones, Obama's Green Jobs Czar, poses with myself and Teri Kent of Better World Betty