Bedford official: SML could benefit from new water treatment plant

Moneta could benefit from the proposed Smith Mountain Lake Water Treatment Plant, according to the Bedford Regional Water Authority.

Moneta Fire Department and Moneta Elementary School wouldn’t have to operate on a well system if a waterline were built. It could result in more fire hydrants and reliable access to water in the event of a power outage, and could help in attracting new businesses, said Brian Key, executive director of Bedford Regional Water Authority.

Key presented details of the proposal at the Tri-County Lake Administrative Commission’s monthly meeting on Tuesday.

The authority is in the process of constructing a new water treatment plant near the lake to provide water from the lake to Forest and the town of Bedford, and to expand the service area in Franklin County, which is served by Western Virginia Water Authority. Plans to build a 26-mile pipeline from the lake to Forest would provide a number of homes with water service along the proposed waterline route.

The propos al would allow the authority to increase withdraw als from the lake from 2 million gallons on an average day to 6 million gallons. On peak days, such as on busy holidays, the withdrawal would be increased from 3 million gallons to 12 million .

“It won’t have an impact on people’s ability to take their boats out of their slips at their dock,” Key said.

He said the proposed withdraw als would account for less than 1 percent of what flows into the lake.

The project has a targeted completion date of December 2016.

The permit is still in the public comment period .

In other news, Pam Dinkle, lake management and project coordinator for TLAC, presented the board with the budget for fiscal year 2013-14. The approved budget is $622,574.02. It includes $79,770.75 from Bedford County, $79,770.75 from Franklin County and $17,727 from Pittsylvania County, as well as carryover funds.

Stan Smith of the Navigation Committee reported plans to contact Appalachian Power to request that when it replaces channel markers on the lake, to consider using signs with rounded corners.

Smith also reported that the TLAC buoys will be cleaned and numbered with a letter system as approved by the U.S. Coast Guard. The board unanimously approved this expenditure, which costs about $1,900.

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