Council Gets Update on Water System Project

By DAVID QUESENBERRY

Patriot Publishing 

Water again was the main topic at Tuesday’s Pulaski Town Council meeting.

Council heard a report on the Town’s Water System Project from Stephen Steele of CHA Consulting in Blacksburg. Steele updated Council on what was now happening with the project and the current status of financing for it.

Steele said there were four major goals of the project, which were: upgrade the Water Treatment Plant; replace the Raw Water transmission lines; upgrade the Raw Water Intake and Pump Station; and satisfy the requirements of the state issued Consent Order.

 

Water Treatment Plant Upgrade

According to Steele three steps in the treatment plant upgrade had been completed. Finished were the installation of new filters; finished water pumps; and completion of the new Veteran’s Hill storage tank.  Still to be done are improvements in the treatment process and a backwash tank project.

 

Replacement of Raw Water Transmission Lines

The second main goal of the project was to replace the raw water transmission lines. Planned for replacement were two 12-inch lines with one 18-inch line to carry raw water from the Raw Water Intake directly to the Treatment Plant on Randolph Avenue.

According to Steele, the current lines cross 12 streams and follows and passes underneath the railroad to deliver water to the treatment plant. The new lines would be relocated and realigned for easier access for maintenance and inspection by employees.

Steele said that his firm is working with Public Works to ensure that they could get to the new line. At present, Public Works employees have to hike and cross rough terrain to get to the current line’s location, making repairs or maintenance extremely difficult.

One important part of the process, Steele said would be to identify all properties that might be impacted and making sure that property owners understand what that could mean if their property had to be crossed by the new line.

 

Upgrade of Raw Water Intake and Pump Station

The third goal of the water project is to upgrade the system’s Raw Water Intake and Pump Station.

This would involve replacement of pumps and electrical components; raise the control panels out of the flood plain; and replace screens and upgrade the “air bursting” equipment to improve removal of debris from the water intakes.

The proposed upgrades are intended to provide enough water to the treatment plant to meet present and future needs of the Town.  The control panels are to be raised out of the floodplain to prevent damage from high water and to provide a greater measure of safety for Public Works employees servicing the location during a high water event. The improved “air bursting” equipment would allow the Town to more easily and thoroughly use high pressure air to blow out debris clogging the water intakes to prevent it from blocking again.

 

Compliance with Consent Order

Steele said this entire process is being driven to comply with the Consent Order issued by the Virginia Department of Health. This will allow the Town to operate its water system by meeting all regulatory requirements set by the state.

 

Funding

Steele reviewed the funding sources available to the Town, which include two new sources. The Virginia Dept. of Health (VDH) awarded the town two $45,000 planning grants, which required no local matching funds. Also received was $660,000 in funds from the VDH Hurricane Helene Relief.

Opportunities now exist for funding either through Congressionally Directed Spending and Economic Development Administration Disaster Relief Grants. Traditional funding sources such as USDA Rural Development, Virginia Resource Authority and SERCAP could also be used.

With respect to current funds for the project, the Town has secured $5,850,941 in grant funding and $3,743,652 in low interest loans. On July 15, VDH awarded the Town $2.94 million for design support in getting the project “shovel ready.” The amount is divided into $1.91 million in grants and $1.09 in a low interest loan.

 

Next Steps

According to Steele the next steps for the water project involve completion of design work and continuing pursuit of funding to support construction.

One objective is to complete design work on the treatment plant to include a sedimentation treatment process and an upgrade of the current treatment process.

Completion of design work is also slated for the Raw Water lines and the Raw Water Intake and Pump Station.

Efforts will continue to secure financing through the 2027 VDH Drinking Water Fund, Congressional Directed Spending and EDA Disaster Relief program.

In response to a question from Councilman Joel Burchett, Steele said the completion of the water plant portion of the project was 4 to 5 years out. Improvements that were needed now would be done incrementally while the plant is in operation. Any updates during the time would be made to include them into the overall planning for the general project.

Councilman Brooks Dawson asked if there was an alternative to a five-year plan.

Town Manager Todd Day said no. He added that he had been in meetings with area localities and the state on securing drinking water which he said was extremely complicated to accomplish. He described the situation as “uncharted territory.”

The Town was still producing high-quality water, he said, but the problem was that the plant itself needed lots of upgrades.

Referring to social media comments asking why the improvements weren’t made before, Day said he understood that view. He said, “We are going to do whatever we can do in whatever possible (way) to continue to deliver high-quality water to our citizens. VDH is going to push the Town. I’m on board being as responsive as I can be with the understanding that water rates impact our citizens. I also understand that if we don’t fix that water plant, you’re not going to have water regardless of the condition of Gatewood.”

Day described the improvements as “necessary.”

“The time of putting it off and shuffling it is gone. It is absolutely gone,” he added.

 

Gatewood Discussion

Day also addressed comments on Gatewood.

On the issue of why water was coming out of the tail pipe, he said the dam had an eight-inch tail pipe from which water ran into a state trout stocked stream and then three miles further to the raw water intake. If there is no water coming through the pipe, the Town would have no drinking water. There is also a smaller dam located at the Raw Water station which forms a small holding area so water may be pumped into the Town’s water system. On an average day, the Town pulls about 2.1 million gallons per day from the reservoir.

Gatewood has an 8,000-acre watershed that by average standards is not large, said Day. The level of other regional lakes  such as Smith Mountain Lake or Philpot Lake and others are all down, not just Gatewood. Localities and authorities have been meeting across the region discussing ideas and measures to deal with the drought. Day dismissed unfounded rumors that there was an open or stolen valve draining Gatewood, or water was being hoarded for a data center.

Day said the reservoir level is monitored closely by the Town using highly accurate digital technology. This data on Gatewood’s level can be accessed by citizens on the Town’s website. The latest readings are posted by about 9:00 am.

“We’re doing everything we can,” said Day. “We absolutely need rain above that 8,000 acres (watershed).”

In other action, Council approved Ordinance 2026-03 authorizing the transfer of three lots from the Town to the Pulaski Redevelopment and Housing Authority for residential development. It also authorized the Town Manager, Town Attorney or the Mayor to execute all documents needed for the transfer of 177 acres from the Town of Pulaski to SHAH Development.

The next scheduled meeting of the Pulaski Town Council will be at 7:00 pm on Tuesday, September 1, 2026 in the Council Chambers of the Town Municipal Building at 42 first Street, N.W.