Western Virginia Water Authority targets storage and interties after drought stress test
Western Virginia Water Authority, Virginia · Meeting date: October 15, 2026 · Published: October 16, 2026
The authority has put construction of a 2 million-gallon clearwell at Spring Hollow out to bid and expects to bring further storage and transmission interconnection projects into its long-term capital plan. Management said the recent drought demonstrated the value of being able to move more finished water between Spring Hollow and Carvins Cove.
Key points
- A new 2 million-gallon clearwell at the Spring Hollow treatment plant has been issued for construction bids.
- Management is considering added storage on the north loop and a potential route from the Spring Hollow south loop through the Crystal Spring zone to increase transfers into the Carvins Cove area.
- Carvins Cove stood at 56% capacity and Spring Hollow at roughly 70% capacity on 15 October after recent rainfall; the authority said mandatory restrictions were unlikely before the Christmas holidays.
- Virginia localities must update water-supply plans by 29 October, with the regional commission leading demand projections and the authority supplying future water-supply information.
Full report
Western Virginia Water Authority has launched procurement for a 2 million-gallon clearwell at its Spring Hollow water treatment plant, as it begins translating lessons from the 2026 drought into a longer-term programme of storage and system-interconnection investment.
The clearwell, which has been put out to bid for construction, will provide additional treated-water storage at Spring Hollow. The Executive Director told the board that the authority has moved Spring Hollow to 24-hour operation for the time being because higher daytime transfers have not allowed storage tanks to recover overnight. The new tank would allow more water to be treated during the plant's previous 16-hour operating period, he said.
The authority also expects to consider further storage and transfer projects in its long-term capital plan. Potential options identified at the 15 October board meeting included a new tank on the north loop and a connection that could bring water from the Spring Hollow south loop into the Crystal Spring zone, allowing Crystal Spring water to be redirected into the Carvins Cove zone.
The proposals reflect the operational constraints of a network built around historically separate municipal systems. Carvins Cove and Spring Hollow are the authority's principal reservoirs, with storage capacities of approximately 6 billion gallons and 3.2 billion gallons respectively. While Carvins Cove has more storage, management said its smaller watershed makes it harder to refill; Spring Hollow fills more readily but has less storage.
The authority has traditionally sought to operate the two major sources at roughly similar production levels and transfer water between their zones. However, management said recent conditions had exposed a need for greater finished-water transfer capability and storage. The drought required closer balancing of the two sources, while the GenX issue at Spring Hollow had previously led the authority to reduce production there for several fiscal years as it developed granular activated carbon treatment. The authority said Spring Hollow now produces non-detect water for that parameter.
Recent rainfall has eased immediate supply pressure. Carvins Cove had risen by more than two feet and stood 19.4 feet below full pool, or 56% capacity, on the meeting date. Spring Hollow was reported to be at roughly 70% capacity. The area had moved from D2 moderate drought to an abnormally dry designation in the latest drought monitor, and management said the risk of mandatory restrictions had probably been deferred until after the Christmas holidays.
Nonetheless, the Executive Director framed the episode as a planning test rather than an endpoint. The authority must determine, alongside the wider community, what level of drought resilience it wishes to fund, including whether the goal should be to avoid restrictions entirely. He said better interconnection would be essential in an emergency, even if either treatment plant could never supply the entire system alone.
That discussion will feed into a wider regional planning exercise. The Commonwealth requires localities to update water-supply plans by 29 October. The regional commission is leading work on growth and demand projections, drawing on local planning departments as well as agricultural, single-family-home and private-well use data. The authority said it will provide the future water-supply information needed for that process.
This summary was generated by AI based on the source document and may contain errors.
Source: Board of Directors Meeting, Western Virginia Water Authority