The Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority is working on a “doomsday” plan for what to do if and when our water supply runs out, says Carlos Santos in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. It involves a variety of methods of making water available, including pumping water up from the bottom of the reservoir to the higher-up intake pipes, drilling wells, and extracting water from Chris Greene Lake. Says the RWSA director, “the three primary focuses for water will be the health and safety of the citizens, fire protection, and keeping hospitals and emergency services open.” What does everybody on cvillenews.com think we should do come doomsday? Where will we get water from? How will we function?
News and meta-news about Charlottesville, VA, since 2001.
Monthly Archive for September, 2002
Page 3 of 7
UVa Provost Gene Block e-mailed all staff, faculty and students yesterday to dispel the rumor that UVa will be closing on November 30th due to the drought, saying that the school has no such plans. Water usage at the school, which is the largest consumer of water in the area, has dropped just 7% in the past week. The school is now considering implementing rolling brown-outs to cut down water usage, spurred on by Charlottesville’s $500,000 hike in the school’s water costs. Martin Olivier has the story in today’s Cavalier Daily.
Henry Weinschenk, owner of Express Car Wash, sent out a press release this afternoon announcing that his business will remain open without running afoul of drought laws. His company received much criticism after saying last week that they intend to stay open in spite of the laws prohibiting car washes from running. Weinschenk says that they have switched to an entirely “dry-wash” based system, using a cleaning product called “Spotless” in a process developed by Express Car Wash as a result of the water restrictions. Keep reading to see the press release.
EXPRESS CAR WASH STILL OPEN, LEGALLY!
Charlottesville, VA. — After receiving a citation last Friday for still “wet-washing” some cars at customers” request, Express Car Wash went all “Dry-Wash” as of Saturday morning. The process was developed by Express Car Wash as an answer to the draconian water restrictions (100%), which were suddenly imposed on them on September 17, 2002; despite the fact that all carwashes in Albemarle and Charlottesville together only use 1/3 of 1% of the water supply.
Within days of the imposition of the ban, Express Car Wash started to experiment on their own cars with various non-traditional methods. Finally they settled for a process they christened “Dry-Wash” based on a product they have used for touchup purposes all along for more than 12 years. It is called “Spotless” and is manufactured by ZEP, one of the largest manufacturers of cleaners for industrial, commercial and institutional use in the U.S.
“Spotless” main active ingredient is Butyl Glycol, an oxygenated solvent that has been manufactured since the thirties and extensively tested all along. It is recommended for automotive cleaning, inside and out, including rubber and vinyl surfaces. Each car is sprayed with a mist consisting of approximately 2 oz. of “Spotless” diluted with 3 quarts of bottled water. This is followed up with a complete rubbing down with clean towels.
“The results of the process are quite satisfactory, at least for cars that have not been extremely neglected before,” said Henry F. Weinschenk, General Partner of Express Car Wash of Charlottesville. “Cars with caked-on mud cannot be processed with this system at this time,” he added.
Finally Weinschenk said, “To produce the mist we use stainless steel tanks which can be pressurized with compressed air. We have removed some of our equipment in the tunnel to allow our people to apply the mist there, while the cars ride on the conveyor. The work process is not yet optimized, but it is already obvious to us that the labor content of each car washed will increase by at least 35 to 50%.”
On Saturday, the groundbreaking ceremony was held in Fluvanna for Tenaska‘s gas-burning power plant. The 885 megawatt plant will generate enough power for 850,000 homes, employ 25-30 people and, combined with the planned Buckingham plant, require as much as 100 million gallons of water per day. The plant, approved by Fluvanna’s Planning Commission in June of 2001, is scheduled to be operational in 2004. Austin Graham has the story in Sunday’s Daily Progress.
The owner of the Express Car Wash is refusing to obey the city’s ban on the operation of car washes during the drought. Henry Wineschenk has not been quiet about his qualms with the targeting of car washes, having been a vocal opponent since the idea was first suggested. Wineschenk says that half of their customers are getting a chemical dry-wash to save water use, and they intend to close down on Sunday. Wineschenk said at Monday’s City Council meeting that the car washes in the city and county use roughly 1/3% of all consumed water, or something on the order of 300,000 gallons each week. He points out that he employs 40 people of the 150 people that work for area car washes, and that layoffs would be disastrous. The city intends to issue a warning to Express Car Wash for operating today, and will issue a fine $250 if they’re open Saturday. If they’re open Monday, WINA reports that they’ll be charged with a misdemeanor, though the Progress indicates that there’s a $500 fine prior to the charge of misdemeanor. Presumably, as more businesses are limited or temporarily barred, more of them will flout the growing restrictions.
Sideblog
Police announced this afternoon that their investigation into what was initially believed to be a fatal fire on Rugby Avenue is now a homicide investigation. #
The Virginia Supreme Court has denied George Huguely’s appeal. His second-degree murder conviction will stand, WRIC reports. #
In a carefully worded story, and not citing specific sources, WTVR reports that forensic evidence belonging to Jesse Matthew Jr., the main suspect in the disappearance of Hannah Graham, matches forensic evidence collected during the investigation of Morgan Harrington’s 2009 murder. #
In the wake of Hannah Graham’s disappearance, and the evidence that came from private security footage, city officials are revisiting the question of installing security cameras on the downtown mall. #
Both Charlottesville Registrar Sheri Iachetta and former Electoral Board member Stephanie Commander have turned themselves in to the police on
foursix and four felony counts of embezzlement, respectively. #Ten years ago, the National Institutes of Health budget doubled and schools like the University of Virginia built massive new research facilities. A decade later, those buildings remain largely underutilized. NPR visits UVA in this story on the effect of federal binge and spurge spending in the sciences. #
In 2012, Council approved a new student housing complex on West Main—now some council members are questioning whether what they were shown matches what was built. #
The Architectural Review Board has approved a bike-themed mural on West Market, below the McGuffey Art Center, although at least one member expressed concerns that it might look like the bicyclists were riding away from Charlottesville’s downtown. #
City Police Chief Tim Longo is meeting with city leaders to work on protocols regarding the use of military surplus police weapons in Charlottesville. #
A 100-year-old Colonnades resident received military honors for her service in the WWII Women’s Army Corps #
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