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Board OKs water‑line easement for Down Eda Hills; officials promise public notice if future hookup to Google is proposed
Summary
The Board of Supervisors approved a variable‑width water‑line easement to the Western Virginia Water Authority to serve Down Eda Hills, after residents pressed whether the work could later supply a proposed Google data center. WVWA staff said hooking Google up is not in the current project scope; the board asked that any future plans be publicly disclosed.
The Board of Supervisors voted to grant a variable‑width easement to the Western Virginia Water Authority so crews can install a new water connection to the Down Eda Hills subdivision.
County staff and Joseph Arthur, project manager for the Western Virginia Water Authority, said the project is a new supply line to relieve pressure problems in the subdivision. Arthur described the proposal as "a new water line" routed up Etzler Road with a 12‑inch main and an 8‑inch connector to serve existing homes and address long‑standing low‑pressure issues.
At the public hearing, several residents said they fear the new pipe could later be extended to serve the data center project proposed in the Greenfield area. "How can you live with this knowledge when you have withheld information from us?" said Denise DeHart, a resident who asked whether elected officials had signed nondisclosure agreements.
WVWA staff and county staff responded that the current work does not include connecting a data center. "That was not part of the scope of this project," Arthur said when asked whether the T‑connection being installed would carry water to a commercial campus. He added that while other hookups are technically possible in the future, they are not in any plan developed for this easement.
Board members sought an added public‑notice safeguard. Supervisor Rodman stated she would support the easement "provided that we make available to the public information as it becomes available to us about the potential for hooking Google into this water system." The motion to approve the easement passed on a roll call with procedural conditions recorded by the clerk.
Clarifying details captured at the hearing: the new construction will install a 12‑inch main on Etzler Road and an 8‑inch line on Victoria Drive, with a T‑section at Etzler and Victoria that would allow later connections if a future separate project sought them. Staff repeatedly said a Google connection is not in the present scope. The board asked staff to ensure the public would be informed if any plans to change that scope are proposed.
Next steps: the water authority will proceed with the primary work to improve pressure and water quality in Down Eda Hills; any amendment to route or scope that could enable serving a large‑scale commercial campus would be subject to public disclosure and a further board action.
