King William puts the brakes on buying land for reservoir project

The King William County Board of Supervisors decided the county would not seek bond money to buy property for the reservoir until it becomes clear that it will be built. The supervisors also are asking the city to stop purchasing land until the reservoir project itself is more of a sure thing.

"We really don't know that the project is a go," said Supervisor Eugene Rivara. "That was the concern of the entire board. Without a go on the project, why are we buying land?"

The decision was made unanimously by the five-member board at a special meeting called for Tuesday night. A choice had to be made by Wednesday morning whether to take part in a Virginia Resources Authority bond sale that would have paid for some land needed to build the reservoir.

Under a contract signed in 1990, King William County is supposed to buy property needed for the 1,500-acre reservoir, and Newport News would lease it from the county.

Rivara, who made the motion not to finance the land purchase right now, said the board's vote was not a repudiation of that contract or a political stand against the reservoir.

He said the board questioned the wisdom of taking on debt for a reservoir that still faces "a lot of variables."

"The need for the project is still a variable out there," Rivara said. He said he has no specific benchmark for when he would be willing to buy land, other than when it is undoubtedly clear that the reservoir will get built.

Newport News also faces passionate opposition from environmentalists, Native American tribes and residents who live in King William and other surrounding counties. The city has yet to meet Clean Water Act requirements for counteracting the loss of hundreds of acres wetlands that would be lost to the reservoir's construction.

And the project still must pass a full review from the State Water Control Board before 2012.

Newport News Mayor Joe Frank said Wednesday evening that he had not yet received word of the King William board's vote, and could not comment on it.