 water supply benefits
The primary benefit of the reservoir is water supply for one of fastest growing regions
in Virginia. The 12 billion gallons of reservoir storage will provide an additional
24 million gallons per day of safe yield to eight communities in southeastern Virginia.
These include the cities of Hampton, Newport News, Poquoson, and Williamsburg and the counties
of York, James City, New Kent and King William.
Host communities have reserved at
least 4 million gallons per day, leaving approximately 20 million gallons per day for
project sponsors. Because of rapid growth and the lack of alternatives, some of the
communities will begin receiving water prior to the projected completion date of the
reservoir.
Integrating the new reservoir and river intake into the regional Waterworks system
creates a more drought-resistant, geographically diverse source water supply system.
The conjunctive system will include intakes in the James River and York River basins,
and 6 deep, brackish groundwater wells. This regional supply system will be an
important element in Virginia’s Water Supply Plan.
In addition to providing a geographically diverse water supply, the additional fresh water
storage provided by the new reservoir will further reduce the risk of water shortage associated
with climate change. Specific plans describing how Waterworks is addressing the increasing
uncertainty posed by climate change is discussed in Climate Change and Peninsula Water Resources.
host jurisdictions |