The decision has been made: Fairfax County water will be installed in Riverside Manor.
The board voted unanimously to approve the 12-inch water main system that will provide water to 53 homes along Arnon Chapel Drive and Walker Road in Great Falls, customers who currently receive their water from two wells owned and operated by Fairfax Water. The waterline would also allow the installation of 16 fire hydrants throughout that area, providing for better fire protection services.
Thursday night’s decision came after 20 Great Falls residents gave impassioned pleas to the Fairfax Water board, hoping to create a collaborative team to find an alternative to the water line they’ve been trying to avoid for several months.
“Why would Fairfax Water intend to impose this project when the community is so vehemently opposed to it?” Cynthia Berry asked early in the evening. “This is not the most cost-effective method. It would be better to drill wells for each individual home, each costing about $8,000, for a total of $400,000, which would save the county hundreds of thousands of dollars,” she said. The price tag on the pipeline project is a slightly over $1 million, which Fairfax Water will pay in its entirety.
“The residents of Great Falls are looking to you to carry out a process that will explore alternative solutions” to putting in a water line, said Eleanor Anderson, speaking on behalf of Citizens Against the Pipeline, an organization she described as representing nearly 1,000 residents of Great Falls.
“The residents of Great Falls are opposed to the pipeline because of the future impact on our communities,” she said. “Give us an opportunity to work together to find an alternative that will be satisfactory to Fairfax Water, the Board of Supervisors, the residents who receive well water and the residents of Great Falls who are seeking to maintain its rural character.”
CALLING OPPONENTS of the water line “realists about development,” Richard Bliss reminded the Fairfax Water board that “unbridled growth has its costs. That’s why we have the Comprehensive Plan. The area north of Georgetown Pike is an important buffer zone to protect the Potomac River.”
Joan Barnes, a member of the Great Falls Citizens Association, who does not live in Riverside Manor but who has been a vocal opponent of the water line, said she wanted to support the well system but Fairfax Water needed “better collaboration with customer, residents and the community” to gain support for the project.
“It’s not too late for the project to go right,” she said before the decision was made. “It’s not just about getting the answers to our questions, it’s about earning trust.”
As a mother of two children, Amelia Clark said she moved her family to Great Falls and Riverside Manor so her children could grow up on well water as she had.
“I’m always mindful of my children’s safety and well-being,” she said. “I love my community and I’m very satisfied with my well water. I’d like it to remain my water supply.”
Col. George Kraft, a resident of Riverside Manor for 35 years, said one of the reasons he moved to Great Falls was the amount of time he’d had while recovering at Walter Reed military hospital after his discharge from the Army provided him with time to research the area where he chose to settle his family.
“The water quality at the time was so good, we could bottle it and sell it,” he said. “The only time we had a water shortage during a drought was because the submersible pump burned out and they didn’t catch it in time. I want my water supplied to my home by those two wells that have supplied me so well for 35 years,” he said.
Eugene Herbert, a Riverside Manor resident, prefaced his comments by saying he had the “highest respect for the management and staff of Fairfax Water,” but that “this project is a disaster. It’s unnecessary,” he said.
Speaking on behalf of the Great Falls Citizens Association, president David Olin said the group was “thankful for the opportunity to be here, with this body of individuals who work hard to provide us with water and with a group of citizens who have been concerned about their community for over 40 years.”
He said the GFCA and other Great Falls residents were interested and dedicated to working in conjunction with Fairfax Water to “come up with viable options” to the water line. We’re eager for the reopening of an opportunity to work together again.”
The issue, according to Professor Christopher Davis, was more than just a water line.
“These men and women recognize there’s something more important going on here. It’s a matter of protecting the natural environment and acting as stewards of a precious resource,” he said. “Our message to you all is clear, this is an important decision with far-reaching consequences. We’re asking that you join us and give us time for all of us to consider the issue in the depth and breadth it deserves.”
The impact of the pipeline “would be connected to a whole lot more than we can imagine,” he said.
OF THE 20 residents who spoke during the meeting, only two were in favor of the pipeline: Richard and Donna Stowe of Riverside Manor.
“I am a member of the Riverside Manor board,” Donna Stowe said. “When Fairfax Water had a meeting with the Riverside Manor board and the Great Falls Fire Department in July, over 50 percent of the residents surveyed were in favor of the pipeline. The issue has been taken up by those outside of Riverside Manor [who] have made development the major issue,” she said.
“As an individual resident of Riverside, I’m in favor of this water line. An increase in fire protection would be a great advantage to us all. It takes 10 minutes for fire trucks to go in, and every minute counts,” she said.
“I believe the costs to Fairfax Water to maintain the well system pose a business threat to your ability to your entire service,” said Ronald Stowe. “In the last 20 years, we’ve had problems getting people to increase their dues at Riverside Manor by $10 each year. The advocacy of this task force is well organized but is an effort to slow down and derail this decision so it never happens. Don’t think this (deferral) is being proposed to develop a better understanding, because it’s not,” he said.
A motion to defer a vote on the issue was made by board member Richard Terwilliger, who said he had spoken with Dranesville district supervisor Joan DuBois and county chairman Jerry Connolly, who had urged the decision to be delayed another two weeks. The motion was seconded, but when the board voted, the 4-4 vote killed the deferral.
“I am strongly against delaying this vote,” said board member Linda Singer. “If our action is to be used as a wedge to delay this issue again and again, we need to act,” she said.
“Unlike the petition and information given to people, the issue became not about the quality of water but about development,” she said. “The County Executive said, in regards to the Comprehensive Plan, that there are no plans to change the character of Great Falls, nor would staff vote to approve that change in character. He’s saying you don’t have to worry,” she said to the residents in attendance.
“Nothing is being accomplished by delaying this vote. Let’s vote on this issue tonight,” she said.
Board member Frank Begovich agreed with Singer, adding that the Fairfax Water board is “not a tool to control development. One theme prevalent in the letters we’ve received, going back to October, is the fear of development,” he said.
“I feel we’ve attempted to be used as a tool to keep out development, but the county controls development. None of the material provided tonight demonstrated alternative ways to provide water,” he said. “They have one goal, to prevent this project from being completed or even started. No one will benefit in delaying this project.”
WHEN THE VOTE was taken, with all board members voting 8-0 in favor of the Riverside Manor water line project, there was no audible reaction from the 30 or so residents of Great Falls at the meeting.
“Now that the issue is decided, we want to say we are dead set against unbridled development,” Donna Stowe said. “Development has been an issue in Great Falls for some time, and I think the water line became a touch point for people to voice their concern. I understand that,” she said.
“If they were to propose a change to the zoning ordinance, we’d oppose it,” Ronald Stowe said. “But there’s no reason to give up fire protection.”
Cindy Berry, who was among the first speakers of the evening, said she was “not surprised” about the decision, but she was disappointed.
“I really think Fairfax Water had a pre-ordained conclusion in mind and ignored all the speakers. They ignored the facts that there is no urgency in replacing the wells. They just refused to explore the alternatives,” she said.
“It is the height of arrogance for a couple of board members to chastise the residents of Great Falls for caring about their environment. This is about water,” she said. “They’re going to be digging up Arnon Chapel and Walker Road, and the mess will be unsightly. They don’t have to deal with it, but I do.”
Supervisor Joan DuBois said she and county chairman Jerry Connolly had asked for the decision to be deferred for two weeks and was surprised to hear Thursday night that the board had voted on the issue.
“The Water Authority made their decision,” she said. “As of a couple of days ago, I thought they’d defer, so I’m a little surprised.”
The bottom line about the issue, she said, is the waterline is a water replacement plan, not a new service plan.
“Fairfax Water wanted to get out of the well business and upgrade their service” to Riverside Manor residents, she said, “but the fear of possible changes in the character of Great Falls escalated. It exploded. I got e-mails and letters from people who gave me no reason why they opposed it, which, frankly, is troublesome to me.”
The character of Great Falls is not going to change, she said. “Water is not going to change Great Falls. There’s a lot of development going on right now, but it’s being done by right. Ninety-nine percent of people in Great Falls and in the county know nothing about zoning; they just know they see another house going up, and they don’t like it.”
“I can guarantee there will be no zoning changes in Great Falls,” DuBois said. “Most places in Great Falls, you couldn’t change the zoning without changing the Master Plan.”
David Olin said those who spoke against the water line “were sincere in their concerns about the environment and the impact the pipeline will have. The only thing I take issue with is the comment raised that (the concern) was a sham to stop the waterline. Of all the meetings I’ve attended, everyone was sincere.”
The real issue may be the question of the government process in Great Falls, he said. “People who have been concerned about the process and the environment will continue to be concerned about the process and the environment,” he said. “But I don’t know what will happen next. We have to regroup. I don’t think anyone’s walking away.”
Jeanne Bailey, a representative of Fairfax Water, said some preliminary work was slated to begin Monday.
“This is our job, it’s not unusual for such a rapid turnaround on a project,” she said. “Test holes need to be drilled, some work around roads need to be done. The equipment is prepared to go.”