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Water tanks panned
May 14, 2004 1:10 am
By GEORGE WHITEHURST
Critics decry impact on battlefields Spotsylvania County officials say two water tanks they want to put up in the western part of the county will improve water pressure.
But historic preservationists and Fawn Lake residents hope to pressure the county into finding another site or an alternate design for at least one of the tanks.
One tank, slated to stand 125 feet high, would be located between Orange Plank Road and Cherrywood Drive, a short distance from Fawn Lake's boundaries.
The second tank, planned for a height of 158 feet, would sit between Wilderness Elementary and Ni River Middle schools.
Both tanks would stand within a few miles of the Wilderness and Chancellorsville battlefields.
The National Park Service hasn't taken a stand on either project, according to John Hennessy, chief historian at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park.
But preservationist and Fawn Lake resident Cliff Tuck doesn't need the park service's opinion to know he opposes an elevated tank at Fawn Lake.
"People who are going to look over the Wilderness battlefield site are going to be able to see the tower," he said. "Someone might say, 'Big deal.' Others might say that the whole point of having historical areas is to re-create the experience of the historic period as well as possible and to minimize the effects of modernity."
Tim Slaydon, Spotsylvania's utilities director, noted that Fawn Lake developer NTS/Virginia Development Co. offered cash and land for the one tank as part of an expansion deal for the gated, upscale subdivision.
The tank site on Catharpin Road was chosen to ensure better fire protection for the two schools.
And so Wayne Brooks of the county's Utilities Department and Maynard Jones of the engineering firm Wiley & Wilson spent yesterday running balloon tests at both sites.
A bright red, dirigible-shaped balloon was sent aloft and tethered at roughly the height of each tank.
Brooks and Jones then rode for several miles around the sites trying to figure out whether the balloon could be seen from nearby subdivisions and battlefields.
Brooks said the county wants plenty of input on the proposed tanks.
"Something of this magnitude, you just don't want to go forward without getting the consensus of everyone involved," he said. "If there are some points of disagreement, we will try to work them out."
Complaining that Spotsylvania doesn't "give a fig" about preserving "viewsheds," Tuck argues the county should look at installing water tanks that would rise only about 40 feet from the ground.
The operation of such tanks is more expensive because pumps must discharge the water. Elevated tanks let gravity do most of the work and can ensure continued water flow during power outages.
Slaydon said his office will hold public hearings on the matter, and tried to soothe preservationists by suggesting the county may consider alternatives to elevated tanks.
"It's certainly not our desire to ruin anybody's viewshed or upset anybody," he said.
But he stressed that public safety and a reliable water supply will have to be the overriding factors in the matter.
"In designing a water tank, we have to consider many tradeoffs," he said. "Those include the aesthetics of the tank, the ability of the tank to serve its intended function, water quality and the cost of the tank.
"As we design a tank and its location, we have to consider all of these elements," Slaydon said.
May 14, 2004 1:10 am
But historic preservationists and Fawn Lake residents hope to pressure the county into finding another site or an alternate design for at least one of the tanks.
One tank, slated to stand 125 feet high, would be located between Orange Plank Road and Cherrywood Drive, a short distance from Fawn Lake's boundaries.
The second tank, planned for a height of 158 feet, would sit between Wilderness Elementary and Ni River Middle schools.
Both tanks would stand within a few miles of the Wilderness and Chancellorsville battlefields.
The National Park Service hasn't taken a stand on either project, according to John Hennessy, chief historian at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park.
But preservationist and Fawn Lake resident Cliff Tuck doesn't need the park service's opinion to know he opposes an elevated tank at Fawn Lake.
"People who are going to look over the Wilderness battlefield site are going to be able to see the tower," he said. "Someone might say, 'Big deal.' Others might say that the whole point of having historical areas is to re-create the experience of the historic period as well as possible and to minimize the effects of modernity."
Tim Slaydon, Spotsylvania's utilities director, noted that Fawn Lake developer NTS/Virginia Development Co. offered cash and land for the one tank as part of an expansion deal for the gated, upscale subdivision.
The tank site on Catharpin Road was chosen to ensure better fire protection for the two schools.
And so Wayne Brooks of the county's Utilities Department and Maynard Jones of the engineering firm Wiley & Wilson spent yesterday running balloon tests at both sites.
A bright red, dirigible-shaped balloon was sent aloft and tethered at roughly the height of each tank.
Brooks and Jones then rode for several miles around the sites trying to figure out whether the balloon could be seen from nearby subdivisions and battlefields.
Brooks said the county wants plenty of input on the proposed tanks.
"Something of this magnitude, you just don't want to go forward without getting the consensus of everyone involved," he said. "If there are some points of disagreement, we will try to work them out."
Complaining that Spotsylvania doesn't "give a fig" about preserving "viewsheds," Tuck argues the county should look at installing water tanks that would rise only about 40 feet from the ground.
The operation of such tanks is more expensive because pumps must discharge the water. Elevated tanks let gravity do most of the work and can ensure continued water flow during power outages.
Slaydon said his office will hold public hearings on the matter, and tried to soothe preservationists by suggesting the county may consider alternatives to elevated tanks.
"It's certainly not our desire to ruin anybody's viewshed or upset anybody," he said.
But he stressed that public safety and a reliable water supply will have to be the overriding factors in the matter.
"In designing a water tank, we have to consider many tradeoffs," he said. "Those include the aesthetics of the tank, the ability of the tank to serve its intended function, water quality and the cost of the tank.
"As we design a tank and its location, we have to consider all of these elements," Slaydon said.