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Board requests HRSD expand sewer service area to include central Accomack sites; staff warned of capacity limits
Summary
Accomack supervisors passed a resolution asking Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD) to expand its service area to include specified central Accomack locations to support proposed higher-density development; staff warned HRSD's facility has finite capacity and allocations are capped at 95% of permitted treatment.
The Accomack County Board of Supervisors on June 17 approved a resolution asking the Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD) to expand its sewer service area to encompass certain central Accomack properties — including Whispering Pines and nearby tracts adjacent to Chesapeake Square — that county staff say are targeted for higher-density development.
Deputy County Administrator Lee Pambit and Stewart Hall (Public Works and Facilities) briefed the board on HRSD’s permitted treatment capacity at the Hancock wastewater treatment plant and on HRSD’s updated flow allocations. Hall said the Hancock plant is permitted by the state to treat 750,000 gallons per day (gpd), but HRSD’s planning allocation uses 95% of capacity (712,500 gpd) for future calculations.
Pambit presented maps showing the county’s central utility service area and the HRSD-covered areas, and said county planning anticipates higher-density village and general commercial development on several properties near the existing force main and pump station. He listed developments either under construction or approved (for example, The Grove at Onley) that could connect to HRSD.
County staff cautioned the board that HRSD is ‘‘development agnostic’’ — HRSD evaluates requests on conveyance, treatment and permitting viability — and that DEQ’s permitting constraints (particularly potential shellfish impacts) limit HRSD’s ability to accept additional capacity in some scenarios. Staff said that while the county’s central service area already includes much of the land in question, HRSD must determine whether it can accept more flow and whether conveyance/treatment is viable.
Board action: the supervisors adopted a resolution requesting HRSD expand its service area to include the designated areas and asked staff to proceed with coordination.
Why it matters: connecting those parcels to public sewer would enable higher-density development and commercial growth in the county’s central corridor, but HRSD capacity, DEQ permitting limits and the need to balance flows among multiple towns are constraints.
Next steps: county staff will coordinate with HRSD and VDOT as needed and continue technical review of conveyance and treatment feasibility.
