Commission backs reclaimed‑water tank and system to serve Culpeper Technology Campus

The Culpeper County Planning Commission voted to forward the Town of Culpeper’s conditional‑use permit request for a reclaimed‑water system to the Board of Supervisors with a recommendation of approval.

Town manager Mr. Hively presented the proposal (Case U224824‑1) as a utility project to reuse treated effluent from the wastewater plant for industrial cooling at the Culpeper Technology Campus and potentially other nearby data‑center campuses. He said the system would include a 4,000,000‑gallon‑per‑day pump station and pipelines, and a town‑owned elevated storage tank sized up to 2,000,000 gallons with an overflow elevation near 195 feet (overall structure height presented near 205 feet). The town selected a Site B location outside the campus’s controlled fencing so the tank would be town‑owned and easier to operate and access.

Why it mattered: The town and staff framed the request as an environmental benefit: reuse reduces nutrient and pollutant discharge to Mountain Run, preserves the community’s nutrient allocation and provides industrial customers with a lower‑cost cooling water source. Mr. Hively said the primary initial customer, Culpeper Technology Campus, agreed to pay the full permitting, design and construction costs, and the town would operate and maintain the pump station and tank.

Key facts: Mr. Hively said the initial expected reclaimed‑water demand from the campus is about 1.5 million gallons per day; the town proposed building to a larger tank capacity so the infrastructure need not be rebuilt later. Water would receive additional disinfection (a chlorine residual) before reuse. The town said it will charge the end user for effluent and recaptured flows would be returned to the wastewater system and treated as required. The town confirmed there is currently one landowner parcel to negotiate for pipeline/tank access and that no eminent‑domain actions were proposed.

Questions and safeguards: Commissioners probed visibility, lighting (structures above 200 feet can require aviation lighting), emergency and failure scenarios, who would pay maintenance and whether reclaimed water would be used for fire suppression (the town said potable water would remain the fire‑suppression source). Mr. Hively said contracts and utility rates would be structured so the town’s enterprise fund covers operations and maintenance; he said the town will not expose its potable supply to the system and would not contract to replace potable service in failure scenarios.

Outcome and next steps: The commission found the CUP to be in substantial accord with the comprehensive plan and forwarded it to the Board of Supervisors with a recommendation of approval. The Board will consider the conditional‑use permit and any conditions tied to final engineering, lighting and contractual protections.

Quote: “We’re proposing a pump station, pipelines and a tank so we can provide reclaimed water safely to an industrial user,” Mr. Hively told the commission, adding the initial investment will be paid by the campus rather than the town.

What to watch: The Board hearing will include engineering detail (DEQ modeling on allowable diversion), final tank height and any FAA/lighting obligations, and the details of the town’s service contract with the campus.