Lake Gaston development plan stirs some concern

VIRGINIA BEACH

City officials are keeping their eyes on a private wastewater treatment plant proposed for Lake Gaston, where Virginia Beach draws its drinking water.

A developer wants to build 59 townhouses and a small treatment plant on the lake's shoreline. It would be one mile from Virginia Beach's water pumping station in Brunswick County, roughly 90 miles from Virginia Beach.

The townhouses would replace 30 mobile homes that had used septic tanks.

Tom Leahy, the Virginia Beach public utilities director, said he is not worried about the project's effect on the city's water supply.

The treatment plant must be approved by the state Department of Environmental Quality. An application is pending. The agency expects to issue a draft permit in January, followed by a 30-day public comment period.

In a memo sent Friday to the City Council, Leahy said Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake and the state Health Department are following the project "very carefully."

He said the treatment plant will have to meet state requirements for freshwater lake nutrients and public water supplies.

"These are very tough standards," Leahy wrote.

Leahy said his main concern is that the developers have a plan to operate and maintain the treatment plant for many years, so it is not abandoned.

Many Lake Gaston residents oppose the the project, fearing it would hurt the lake's water quality. Some of them also live in Hampton Roads, and they have complained to Virginia Beach City Council members.

In his memo, Leahy said some opponents mistakenly believe Virginia Beach can veto the project. The city doesn't have that power, he said.

"The only way to prevent the project from going forth with 100 percent certainty would be to acquire the property or the development rights," Leahy wrote.

Leahy's memo also said there is a perception that Lake Gaston is "pure and pristine" and that the treatment plant would ruin the lake.

"Lake Gaston water quality is very good," Leahy wrote, "but it is not pristine and it is not free from water quality stresses or threats." He noted that septic tanks "are no more pollution-free than wastewater treatment systems are," and surface water runoff also contains many contaminants.

Leahy said he will recommend a course of action after the DEQ prepares the draft permit.

"Fifty-nine units into a creek is not that big an issue," Leahy said in an interview. "But how we handle this one might affect more in the future. If there were five or six more developments, that could be an issue."

Marc Davis, (757) 222-5131, marc.davis@pilotonline.com