County hears US 58 West sewer capacity analysis; consultant recommends phased pump‑station/force‑main approach

Pittsylvania County staff and consultant Dewberry briefed the Board of Supervisors on May 20, 2025, about a sewer capacity analysis for the US 58 West system intended to assess existing capacity and options to serve a proposed mixed-use development west of Danville and potential residential growth along the corridor.

Greg Adcock, county staff, introduced Leslie Mantiply, senior associate at Dewberry, who summarized the study. Mantiply said the analysis reviewed existing gravity sewers, three county pump stations (Deer Crest, Pine Lake and Ragsdale), and force mains; it used pump-station run times, rainfall data and flow metering to estimate current loads and project future needs. "We recently completed a sewer capacity analysis study in our 58 West system," Mantiply said.

Dewberry modeled future flow using two methods. One approach applied a conservative density (50% of the Westover District) to identified parcels and produced about 0.32 million gallons per day (MGD) average flow; an alternate approach used recent flow-meter data from the City of Danville’s Sandy River interceptor and produced about 0.27 MGD — the consultant said the two methods were close. Peak flows for build-out scenarios ranged roughly 0.8–0.97 MGD.

Mantiply said Deer Crest Pump Station — the westernmost station — would require pump upgrades and electrical/control work to accommodate phase 1 of the mixed‑use development, but that later phases and broader corridor growth would require a larger capital project. She described three alternatives: (1) a long gravity sewer extending ~12.5 miles up Sandy River and Sugar Tree Creek (the most long-term solution), (2) a hybrid that installs an on-site pump station at the mixed‑use site and a force main along U.S. 58 to the Deer Crest area while later constructing a gravity sewer for future lateral connections (the recommended approach), and (3) an approach that would upsize all existing infrastructure (gravity, pumps and force mains). Mantiply said alternative 2 can be phased with a short-term project around $8.5 million and a later $8–9 million investment on the backside; she gave total estimates for the three alternatives of about $21.0 million (alt 1), $17.7 million (alt 2) and $20.5 million (alt 3).

Asked about the Deer Crest station’s visible impacts, Mantiply said short-term work would simply upsize pumps and that the station would look the same; the long-term gravity-sewer option would remove the station entirely. She also said connecting to the Berry Hill/Southern Virginia mega site pump station and heading south to Eden would be possible only with downstream improvements and noted Eden has capacity earmarked for the mega site, making that path less advantageous for the county’s corridor development. "In the short term, it would just be upsizing the pumps. It would look no different than it is today," Mantiply said of Deer Crest.

Board members raised funding and policy questions. Supervisors asked whether installed lines would be upsized to avoid rework later (Mantiply said design was intended to accommodate future build‑out), whether mandatory hookups would be required for properties adjacent to new lines (county staff said there is no current mandatory hookup requirement and that the board could explore the option), and whether maps and raw data could be provided to inform the county’s forthcoming comprehensive plan (Dewberry and county staff agreed to share the materials). The consultant recommended alternative 2 as a balance of short-term connection needs and long-term access for future residential connections; no formal vote was taken during the work session.