The Ridgewater Park proposal is back again, this time calling for 931 new houses in an area currently planned for only 38 houses.

The increase in density is almost 25 times what's currently allowed, and on land that protects Ashburn's drinking water source.  This land is off the Greenway west of Goose Greek, between Ashburn and Leesburg in the Transition Area.

The Board of Supervisors voted to keep the existing growth plan for this area, and this proposal is clearly far beyond what the plan for calls for. See this chart for a comparison of the impacts.

Tell our elected officials to:

• Say NO to Ridgewater Park
• Save taxpayers millions of dollars in capital and operating costs
  
• Prevent 9,310 daily car trips (not including commercial traffic!) on the Greenway, Route 7, and local roads in Leesburg and Ashburn
• Protect Ashburn's drinking water
• Protect our Comprehensive Plan
  

Other Resources

• Piedmont Environmental Council's brief on protecting our drinking water (Word doc)
  *This document was written to address the Ridgewater Park CPAM. As soon as the staff report for the rezoning is made available, we will provide an updated version.  
• Impacts of the proposal (Word doc)
  Prepared by the Piedmont Environmental Council
• County staff report on Ridgewater Park CPAM*
  *Please note that this staff report is for the Ridgewater Park CPAM. The staff report for the rezoning application is not yet available. 

Our Drinking Water Quality at Risk
The drinking water for Ashburn and City of Fairfax would be directly, negatively impacted by this development. The proposed development for 931 houses directly impacts the drinking water supply in the Goose Creek reservoir.

County staff told the Planning Commission that our drinking water is at risk, because there is no chance for toxic chemicals, bacteria, and other pollutants to be diluted before they go right into the water intake. 

Drinking water concerns from the County Staff Report*

"The reservoir, owned by the City of Fairfax, is an important drinking water resource to the County.  It contains approximately 200 million gallons of water and serves approximately 45,000 people living in the City of Fairfax and Loudoun County.  Approximately one-half of the water treated at the Goose Creek Water Treatment Plant is used by Loudoun residents. ...Allowing more intensive development in this area could adversely impact the reservoir.  The City of Fairfax, in a November 7, 2006 letter, raised several concerns regarding development adjacent to reservoir, including:

• increased sedimentation to the reservoir (which will require more frequent dredging, a costly process);
• increased chemical runoff due to residential use of fertilizers and pest control chemicals;
• in the event of contamination caused by residential landbays in close proximity to the Water Treatment Plant, the plant may have to shut down in order to complete the required testing and treating, a process that would leave 45,000 people without water;
• it may be necessary for the City to construct costly fencing/security facilities to prevent human/animal related contamination;
• increased potential for liability issues; and
• sanitary sewer back-up/overflow entering the reservoir."

*Please note that this staff report is for the Ridgewater Park CPAM. The staff report for the rezoning application is not yet available.

Sincerely,

Gem Bingol, Piedmont Environmental Council
On behalf of the Campaign for Loudoun's Future

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Together, We're Fighting to Protect the Quality of Life in Loudoun

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