Rules vary to protect public drinking water
Area reservoirs have one main purpose: clean drinking water. But they are also favorite home sites and destinations for paddlers and fishermen
By RUSTY DENNEN
Date published: 9/14/2006
Reservoirs supply drinking water to tens of thousands of Fredericksburg-area residents.
Though water supply is their primary function, reservoirs offer other benefits: recreation, and great locations for those lucky enough to live near their shores.
How waterfront resources are managed differs from locality to locality. Generally, few--if any--shoreline structures are allowed, large buffer areas protect shorelines, and tree clearing is prohibited.
The rules vary across the state, according to a spot check by The Free Lance-Star. In some localities, such as Stafford and Culpeper counties, boat docks and piers are allowed, with the proper permits. Spotsylvania County does not allow them.
On Virginia's 35,000-acre portion of Kerr Reservoir, which stretches into North Carolina, permanent piers, floating docks and boathouses are common. That's also the case in the Hampton Roads area, which has 18 water-supply lakes.
There are seven reservoirs in the immediate Fredericksburg area--Abel and Smith lakes in Stafford; Ni, Motts Run and Hunting Run reservoirs in Spotsylvania; and Mountain Run and Pelham lakes in Culpeper. There are other lakes that supply water for private water systems in the area.
On Ni Reservoir there's a water treatment plant and a small county-maintained park on a cove off Gordon Road. Johnboats with electric motors are available for rent. There's a picnic area and parking.
Once a nearly continuous swath of farmland and forest, Ni Reservoir is now ringed with houses.
But the shoreline is green and uncluttered.
"The intent is no construction along the shoreline," Bruce Boyer, the county's water resources engineer, said in a recent interview.
Like many localities across the state, Spotsylvania has several tiers of protection written into its reservoir protection overlay district, which restricts land uses around its water supplies.
The districts extend 2,000 feet from the shore; any construction must be at least 250 feet from the water, and no clearing is allowed within 150 feet.
Builders and homeowners not familiar with the county's reservoir protection ordinances sometimes illegally clear trees and brush along the shore. Or a small dock or floating pier will appear.
When neighbors complain, or when county officials learn of such infractions, the property owner is notified.
Infractions are referred to the Code Compliance Department.
"In most cases, the people didn't know," Boyer said.
Date published: 9/14/2006
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