WCSA is preparing to launch two new capital projects that will provide public water service to Washington County residents who currently depend on private wells. Both projects will eliminate reliance on water sources with documented contamination.
The Mendota Road Water Line Extension Project will complete the installation of more than 15 miles of water line infrastructure begun nearly 20 years ago, and will deliver service to the remaining residences in this community. The Mary’s Chapel/Archery Range Road Water Line Project will enable WCSA to bring water service to homes along Mary’s Chapel Road and a portion of Walker Mountain Road, along with an unserved section of Archery Range Road.
Public water service was first made available to the Mendota community in 1993, when WCSA constructed a water line to supply the community and a short portion of Mendota Road, served by the Mendota Well. Nearly a decade later, the service authority implemented a series of projects that added additional infrastructure along Mendota Road, which provided service for 38 residences.
Between 2007 and 2009, WCSA applied for funding three times to construct nearly two miles of additional water line along Mendota Road. This water line would extend the existing line completed in 2008. A feasible funding offer was not received during this time.
In 2013, WCSA constructed a water line that extended east along Mendota Road from the Scott County line to the end of the service authority’s existing line. In addition to adding some new residences to the system, this project was significant because it allowed WCSA to purchase water from Scott County to serve already connected Mendota residents.
In 2018, a majority of the residents living along the remaining unserved section of Mendota Road indicated they wished to participate in the water line extension project. Although this enabled WCSA to again apply for funding each year between 2018 and 2021, a feasible offer was not received until 2021, when the Virginia Department of Health offered $5.5 million in 2021 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant funding for the project.
The Mendota Road Water Line Extension Project will provide service to the remaining 82 existing residences along a more than 10-mile section of Mendota Road. It will also allow the entire length of Mendota Road to be served by WCSA’s water system from its Middle Fork Drinking Water Plant.
WCSA has been working on bringing public water to an unserved portion of Walker Mountain Road since 2016, when several residents first approached the service authority about their interest in being connected. WCSA expanded the project area to include Mary’s Chapel Road and an unserved portion of Archery Range Road, which qualified the project for funding assistance. Although funding applications were submitted each year between 2018 and 2021, no feasible offer was received until 2021, when the Virginia Department of Health offered $1.6 million in ARPA grant funding.
The Mary’s Chapel/Archery Range Road Water Line Project will include 19,000 linear feet of waterline and a pump station, and will provide service to 25 existing homes in the project area.
Design of both projects are complete and WCSA is accepting bids for each project, with construction
expected to begin in the spring of 2022.