A Stupid Project is Getting Pregnant

By Charles Houston

A handful of homes in Waterford have weak wells. A handful of houses in Paeonian Springs have problems with wastewater. These historic villages’ needs were each addressed by the County in 2022 and 2019, respectively. In the years since, nothing happened. Then last year, County bureaucrats had a eureka moment and said, “Hey, why don’t we solve both problems by creating piped water and sewer links that connect the two villages.” Thus began the “Villages of Paeonian Springs and Waterford Interconnected Community Water and Wastewater Systems.”

I sense a coordinated move by Staff and Loudoun Water to create a full-blown utility system to replace all existing wells and septic systems, where hook-up costs would be in the $18,000 range for each lot.

The $60,000,000 cost didn’t bother Staff. After all, the County has more than $250,000,000 of surplus funds from data centers and it seems to be searching for ways to spend this largesse, rather than giving citizens some tax relief.

The Stage

Waterford and Paeonian Springs both have National Historic designations; they are connected by Clarkes Gap Road, a Virginia Scenic Byway. The villages are known for their charm and uniqueness. Both have a wide range of housing and family incomes. Neither one could be considered a “place just for the rich.”

In addition to the villages and Clarkes Gap, the project’s study area includes land along Hurley Lane, Highland View, Bridle Path and Hamilton Station. That implies that wells and pipes could end up in any of these areas.

The Issue

Working with Loudoun Water, County bureaucrats have proposed a massive water and sewer connection between Waterford and Paeonian Springs, along Clarke’s Gap Road. It would be expensive, but that’s not an issue for this rich county. Loudoun Water would manage and own the project.

This scheme would condemn parts of the lots along the Byway for a major water plant, pumping stations, piping and up to five communal wells, all on what’s now private property. Many trees along Clarkes Gap would be chopped down.

Malignant Mutation

This started as a way to help a few handfuls of houses with impaired water and/or sewer. Now it’s morphed into a monstrosity: A full-blown utility system with lines running all over both villages so every lot would be served. (Oddly, except for properties along Clarkes Gap Road.) One imperative is that there must be sufficient revenues for it to be financially feasible for Loudoun Water. Connecting to the system will likely be mandatory… triggering meter hook-up fees in the $18,000 range per house, even for houses with satisfactory water and sewer.

Numbers Tell a Tale

I believe that the villages’ combined water usage is currently around 544,000 gallons per day. The proposed system would provide 600,000 gallons per day. Clearly this is a plan to take over private wells and wastewater systems. 

Citizens Erupt

Many residents of both villages and also those on Clarkes Gap Road came together to fight the cumbersomely-titled project, forming the ad hoc Waterford Preservation Group (WPG.) Check its website: Savethebyway.org and PLEASE sign the petition you’ll see there.

Those along Clarkes Gap would suffer badly. The two-pipe system would run alongside that road, taking residents’ land as needed and removing many of the trees that line the road. There would also be buildings behind chain link fences to be stations for pumping Paeonian Springs wastewater uphill to Waterford’s sewage treatment plant.  

First, We Vent

The first WPG meeting I attended was mostly emotional. People were really, really hot. That may have been necessary catharsis. I tend to be phlegmatic and pragmatic, so it was a day or two before I realized that problems with this project rightfully beget an emotional reaction. That’s fine—people should get emotional over grandiose schemes like this.

Studying the Plan

I’ve poured over various engineers’ work, Staff’s 2019 108-page document to the Board seeking its approval and Staff’s PowerPoint presentation to the Board last November 19. The engineering study seems credible; Staff’s 2019 paper is full of errors and what I think are purposeful omissions; while the PowerPoint presentation had all of those problems, packaged as a slick sales pitch. 

Houston’s Unbiased and Totally Accurate Findings

There has been no community engagement by the County. Staff glosses over this, telling the Board that public engagement would be premature since the project is in its feasibility phase. Chair Randall made the great point that once a project like this gets started, it’s hard to stop. This one is getting pregnant. But it can be stopped once you see some of its specific problems:

Elements of the plan include (1) up to five groundwater wells with new access roads, pumping out 600,000 gallons a day. No mention is made on potential reduction in our existing wells or the aquifer, which is currently 40 – 50 feet below normal. (2) A water treatment facility. (3) water storage, which could be a water tower. (3) One or more pumping stations—actual buildings inside chain link fencing enclosures with back-up generators. (4) Force main water piping. (5) Forced flow sewage piping. In several places Staff slipped up and called this what it is: A water plant, plopped along a scenic byway denuded of trees.

There are serious environmental risks. Catoctin Creek south of Waterford would be subject to seasonally drying up. The creek north of the village may see daily wastewater discharges in excess of stream base flow into the Potomac.  

Projects like this cannot be built on land that’s in a conservation easement, and there are at least nine such parcels along the proposed project route.

Deleterious impacts to property values, which were not even mentioned.

There was no presentation of alternative solutions. Why? Probably because Staff wanted the Board to have a binary choice—this project or nothing. The Board was derelict in not demanding to see alternatives.

The project would allow several hundred new houses to be built in the villages, causing new headaches such as increased traffic and crowding.

Staff’s slipshod PowerPoint show is worth mentioning. I particularly note its claim that the project was “economically feasible,” without saying for whom. Certainly not for homeowners who may be forced to tie into the system at costs up to $18,000 each. Remember, if too few houses hook up on their own, the County can force others to tie in to ensure that Loudoun Water gets enough revenue.

Aesthetic issues are critical—this project would destroy the beautiful viewsheds that make Clarkes Gap a scenic byway and a pleasing entrance into Waterford.

What we Want

“Supervisors, please hit the Abort button.”

Charlie Houston generally considers engineers to be credible and without biases to their work. On the other hand, he knows that project managers often contort engineers’ work to push their development agenda. Houston did that himself a few times—a traffic engineer said a proposed road intersection would have a level of service of F so he pushed the engineer to call it “a high F.”