State Mandated Water Supply Plan Raises Concerns Among Highland County Residents

Monterey, VA – The Highland County Board of Supervisors held a public hearing on the Upper James River Basin Water Supply Plan at their work session last week. The plan, more than 160 pages long, was described by County Administrator Roberta Lambert.

The localities participating in the Upper James River Basin Water Supply Plan include the Counties of Bath, Highland, Rockbridge, and Alleghany, the Cities of Covington, Buena Vista, and Lexington, the Towns of Clifton Forge, Goshen, Glasgow, Iron Gate, and Monterey as well as all of the localities in the Roanoke Valley Alleghany Regional Commission. The plan must include a listing of federal land, state land, impaired streams, sites of point source discharge, and other potential threats to water quality. Other parts of the plan include projected water demands and drought contingency and response.

The Supervisors asked County Administrator Roberta Lambert to contact other localities in the region to see what actions they have taken on this plan. The state has requested that localities approve the plan by November 2.

The Supervisors will review the Upper James River Basin Water Supply Plan and are expected to vote on it at their next meeting. The next regular meeting of the Highland County Board of Supervisors will be Tuesday, November 1 at 7:30 PM in the Modular Conference Center in Monterey.

Please click on the above link to hear comments from Roberta Lambert, Jerry Rexrode and Roger Hiner.