York Notebook: Supervisors Vote on Water Plan, Last Hurricane Debris Pickups

By Sam Thrift Monday, September 26, 2011

The York County Board of Supervisors voted last Tuesday on a regional water plan that a NASA scientist called flawed, and this is the last week for free Hurricane Irene debris pickup.

Board of Supervisor votes
The York County Board of Supervisors met Sept. 20 to vote on a regional water plan to ensure Hampton Roads will not have water shortages in decades to come, a permit for a landscaping business and a no wake zone in Cabin Creek.

Regional water supply plan
The Virginia State Water Control Board’s Regulation 9 requires all counties to prepare and submit a water supply planning program to the Department of Environmental Quality to prepare for future water shortages. Local governments served by the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission (HRPDC) elected to develop a Regional Water Supply Plan, instead of individual plans for each locality.

The plan examined existing water supplies and future water demands by sub-regions, according to the memorandum supplied by the county. The memorandum said, “…it has been determined that the York-James Peninsula should have adequate supplies to meet demands over the next forty years. However, the plan does indicate that deficit could develop beyond that time frame.”

The 300-page plan didn’t propose specific alternatives for additional sources of supply for any of the area water providers, but did list alternatives that show the most promise for successful permitting and implementation if existing supplies can’t meet future demands, according to the memorandum.

During the meeting, retired NASA scientist Don Phillips, a York County resident, asked the board to approve the plan, but with reservations. Phillips’ research shows that the numbers used in the plan to estimate the amount of water needed are incorrect.

“[My research] projects a demand of about 52 million gallons per day (mgd) for the Peninsula in 2050,” Phillips said. “In contrast, the HRPDC Water Supply Plan projects a demand of 77 mgd in 2050.”

He said the difference in their projections is due to the failure of the HRPDC to take current population growth and water use trends into account when making demand projections. Phillips argues that the plan’s population trends don’t take into account that York County is getting close to build out in the coming decades.

Phillips also said the Regional plan assumes water demand per person will remain constant on the Peninsula, even though demand has been dropping for decades.

When Phillips presented this to the board, District 5 representative Tom Shepperd said he would take the information to the HRPDC. Shepperd is also the Vice Chairman of the HRPDC.

The board approved the plan 5-0.

Phillips emailed his findings to the James City County Board of Supervisors, who will be voting on the plan tomorrow.

Hurricane debris pickup
Contractors hired to remove debris from Hurricane Irene in York County have removed an estimated 90 percent of eligible storm debris as of Sept. 22, according to York County spokesperson Christie Phillips.

The county asks residents who have remaining storm debris to move it to the public right of way no later than Sept. 30. The collection is intended for debris generated by Hurricane Irene only.

Effective Oct. 1, the York County Division of Waste Management will resume normal operations, according to a press release. Collections for any debris placed at the right-of-way after Sept. 30 will need to be scheduled as a regular yard debris collection.

As part of the yard debris collection program, York County residents may request one curbside yard debris collection of up to 28 cubic yards for $25 in any 30-day period. Additional collections within a 30-day period can be requested for $250 per 28 cubic yard load. The program requires limbs be no longer than 10 feet in length and eight inches in diameter.

Residents can also self-haul storm debris to the VPPSA Composting Facility located at 145 Goodwin Neck Road. Material delivered directly to the composting facility can be up to 10 feet in length, 24 inches in diameter and needs to be free of any stumps and dirt.

For more information or if you have questions concerning the storm debris removal process, call the York County Division of Waste Management at 890-3780.

Landscaping business permit
The special permit to allow Nickerson Landscape to continue business on Back Creek Road was approved after much discussion Tuesday night.

Diane Nickerson, owner of Nickerson Landscaping, currently has a permit for the business, but it is registered on a neighboring property that she previously owned.

After discussing if her neighbors would approve the six-foot fence that was being built around the facility, the board approved the permit 5-0.

No wake zone on Cabin Creek
The board decided to table a proposed no wake zone on Cabin Creek, an area with 16 waterfront properties off York Point Road.

Read more about the decision here.

The next Board of Supervisors meeting will be Oct. 2 and you can view the agenda by clicking here.