Middleburg council hears broad public support, technical questions on proposed water-conservation ordinance

Middleburg — The Town Council held a public hearing and extended discussion on a proposed water-conservation ordinance that would create three phased responses — voluntary conservation, mandatory restrictions and a capped rationing stage with surcharges — to be triggered if local supply metrics deteriorate.

The proposal, presented by Town Manager Danny Davis, would preserve a voluntary first tier, require a second tier of mandatory restrictions (for example, limits on outdoor irrigation) and add a new third tier that would set a per-account cap before surcharges apply. "You're not voting on anything tonight. You're not implementing water conservation measures tonight," Davis told the council as he laid out the three-phase, step-by-step approach and emphasized staff would return with specific trigger options.

The topic drew nearly a dozen public commenters and extended council debate. Resident Megan Gallagher told the council, "The issue of water supply in our region and particularly for our town is urgent. We need to protect our single source aquifer" and urged enforcement "with teeth," including surcharges for customers who cannot show good-faith efforts to reduce use. Multiple other speakers — including homeowners and a property-owners association representative — offered to volunteer on outreach or ask for occupancy- or consumption-based adjustments to any cap.

Why it matters: Middleburg relies on local wells and a small distribution system; council members said conservation preserves public health and system reliability and that supply-side investments such as new wells can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Mayor Peter Leonard Morgan noted the cost of drilling a new well: "How much is it to drill a new well? Half a million bucks, that's just to drill it." Council members and residents stressed the need to pair demand-management rules with clearer, documented supply planning.

Key details: Staff presented the ordinance concept emphasizing stepwise implementation. The draft would remove an earlier draft proposal to permit shutoffs for overuse and replace that enforcement with surcharges tied to a usage cap; staff said shutoffs were removed because the town must continue to provide water. Davis said the exact cap is under review, noting Round Hill's 150-gallon-per-day figure as a tested reference. Council and commenters discussed alternatives such as 200–300 gallon/day caps, occupancy adjustments, and percentage-reduction approaches.

Council members and staff focused on measurable triggers. Several speakers recommended using well transducer trend lines (water-table measurements above pumps) and recent recharge/rainfall data as objective early-warning signals to prompt council discussion before moving to the next phase. Utility staff and Council Member Bridge Littleton and others noted the town’s average daily finished water production is roughly in the tens of thousands of gallons and that top customers account for a large share of use; staff said the top 10 customers account for about 54% of consumption and that roughly 80% of households use under 50 gallons per day.

Discussion vs. decision: The evening consisted of a public hearing, public comment and council direction; no ordinance was adopted. Council asked staff to return with modeling showing the effect of different cap levels (150, 200, 250, 300 gpd) on daily demand, staffing impacts of monitoring or enforcement options, and options that account for occupancy or historic winter usage. Staff agreed to provide more data and to outline operational and staffing needs for any enforcement approach.

Other council direction: Mayor Morgan proposed an annual, off-agenda utility strategic review so council, staff and the public can review capital plans, well inventory and long-term financing; council supported the idea. Staff also said they are pursuing more frequent meter reads and transducer monitoring to improve near-real-time visibility of production vs. billed consumption.

What’s next: Staff will model alternative cap levels, present staffing and procedural impacts if the town needs to implement rationing, and propose objective trigger metrics (for example, well transducer trends) at a future council meeting for further direction. The council did not set a decision date.

Ending: Residents and council members left the meeting urging more outreach and clearer public information so households can reduce water use before mandatory steps would be needed. The council scheduled follow-up staff work and analysis rather than immediate adoption.