Planning commission recommends fill in Beavercreek floodplain for Rivanna pump station

The Albemarle County Planning Commission on Aug. 11 voted to recommend approval of SP 20260005, a special-use permit to place 450 cubic yards of fill in the floodplain at the southern end of Beavercreek Reservoir to build a new Rivanna Water raw-water pump station.

"Staff recommends these 2 conditions of approval for the fill in the floodplain special use permit," Jared Tate, senior planner with Albemarle County Community Development, told the commission during the staff presentation. Tate said staff found the proposal "in harmony with the purpose and intent" of the county's Flood Hazard Overlay and reported the applicant had certified the placement of fill would not cause a rise in base flood elevation.

Victoria Ford, project manager for Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority, described the site constraints and the need for the intake and pump station to meet both water supply and downstream release requirements set by the DEQ permit issued in December 2024. She said the new pump station would allow "raw water conveyance" capacity up to 2,800,000 gallons and maintain a separate capacity for minimum instream releases of 2,000,000 gallons. Ford also described a destratification system intended to reduce algal growth and lower chemical treatment needs.

Commissioners asked about mitigation for vegetation clearing and whether public facilities are treated differently than private applicants under the Water Protection Ordinance. Frank Paul, county engineer, answered that as a public facility the project is exempt from mitigation requirements that might apply to some private developments; staff and the applicant said erosion-control measures and a replanting plan that exceeds ordinance minimums are part of the application.

A motion to recommend approval, with the conditions contained in the staff report, passed by recorded vote. The commission's recommendation will go to the Board of Supervisors, which has final authority.