STAFFORD — There’s more water in Stafford than officials first thought.
The county’s planning and zoning director Jeff Harvey, Director told the board of Supervisors the county could support the construction of 6,500 new wells. Homes in the county draw from the Piedmont Aquifer, and last year county officials were concerned that aquifer was on the brink of running dry.
The county’s comprehensive plan currently 200 new homes being built per year outside urban services area, where new homes will rely on well water and not be connected to county water and sewer.
“Assuming that we have about half of those units being built in the Piedmont province, that would give us way more capacity than the current 20-year projection for groundwater,” Harvey said.
Harvey explained that Stafford County is broken up into the coastal plain, mostly the area east of Interstate 95 and the Piedmont, west of I-95.
He said that geology within the coastal plain is clay and sandy soils, which allows for reasonable movement of water. Low water well yields aren’t much of a problem in this region.
In the Piedmont the underlying geology is mostly granite, wells rely on fractures in the rock as storage for water, according to Harvey. Water moves very slowly and it has additional issues and concerns for drilling wells.
Water in the county, however, hasn’t always been so plentiful. Harvey that in 2001 to 2002 there was a longstanding drought.
In 2005 the county adopted its first groundwater management plan in response to concerns about well yields. In 2017 two members of the board brought up concerns about low well yields and drilling new wells without an adequate water supply.
Low yielding wells are an area of concern. Of the 1,800 wells surveyed, wells drilled after the year 2000 had slightly higher yields than older wells, according to Harvey.
The report includes a map that classifies well yield potential for each geologic unit as low, moderate or high yield.
“The plan recommendations have some suggestions for best management practices,” Harvey said.
One of the recommendations is to establish groundwater monitoring wells. The cost for each well is around $12,000. Harvey said that is something for the board to consider in the future. The wells wouldn’t be active, they would just monitor the overall rise and drop of groundwater.
“Stafford County does not have the authority to require hydrogeologic testing for building permits, however, some jurisdictions have dealt with that standard through their subdivision ordinance, and they may require that a certain number of future lots before they’re created has a well drilled to ensure there’s adequate water supply. So that may be something the board may want to consider in the future as well,” Harvey said.
On August 29, the Planning Commission held a vote and recommended approval on the plan 7-0.
The Board of Supervisors carried the motion 7-0 to approve the amendments to the Comprehensive Plan to incorporate the Groundwater Resources Evaluation for the Piedmont Aquifer (Piedmont Plan).
