Completion of the Haysi to Big A Mountain Water Project

August 19, 2010

Bee, Virginia

I am pleased to return to Bee today to mark the completion of a new federally funded water system, which will provide safe and reliable public drinking water for the first time to 238 residents in both Dickenson and Buchanan Counties.

Today, construction has been completed on the final phase of the Haysi to Big A Mountain Water Project, which is a joint undertaking by the Dickenson County Public Service Authority and the Buchanan County Public Service Authority to provide public water service to the 238 homes along the Route 80 corridor from the Birchleaf community in Dickenson County to the Davenport community in Buchanan County.

Adequate and reliable public water systems are essential to maintaining Southwest Virginia’s excellent quality of life and critical to achieving residential and business growth in our region. The new Haysi to Big A Mountain water system marks a significant step forward in advancing these goals for residents of Dickenson and Buchanan Counties. 

Previously, the residents along Route 80 in both Counties relied on private wells and springs for drinking water which were often unreliable and, in some cases, had become contaminated. To address this problem, the Dickenson and Buchanan County Public Service Authorities worked together to develop a water system that would benefit both Counties and provide water service along Route 80 from the Birchleaf area to Davenport.

Last year, water service commenced on the second phase of the project. That portion of the project provided service to the more than 43 homes along Route 80 from the Sportsman Lake area to the Bee community. And in 2008, we marked the completion of the project’s first phase, which brought safe and reliable public drinking water services to the 18 homes along Route 80 from the Birchleaf community in Dickenson County to the Sportsman lake area.

Today, the final portion of the project has been completed, which brings public water service for the first time to 177 homes along Route 80 from the Bee community in Dickenson County where we gather today to the Davenport community in Buchanan County.

The total cost to construct the Haysi to Big A Mountain Water project was more than $6 million. Of that total amount, $4.25 million has been provided through federal funding at my request. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, through its Community Development Block Grant program provided $1 million for the third phase of the project and $390,000 for the second phase. In addition, the Appalachian Regional Commission provided a grant of $500,000 for the project’s third phase, and more than $2,350,000 has been provided through the federal Abandoned Mine Land program at my request.

In addition to the federal funds, the Virginia General Assembly provided a total of nearly $1.4 million for the project. The Coalfield Water Development Fund provided $185,000. And Dickenson and Buchanan Counties provided a combined total of $144,030.

As part of the project, nearly 20 miles of water lines have been installed along Route 80 from the Birchleaf community to the Davenport community. In addition, water lines have been installed in the Murphy Road, Indian Creek, Laurel Branch, Little Fox, and Sullivan Branch areas. A new water storage tank and a new pump station have also been installed.

Now that the project has been fully completed, safe and reliable public water service is available for the first time to the 238 homes along the Route 80 corridor between from Birchleaf in Dickenson County to Davenport community in Buchanan County. In Davenport, this project connects to the existing Buchanan County water system, providing an additional water supply for the Council and Davenport communities.

Access to safe and reliable public water and wastewater services are essential to our economic development goals for Southwest Virginia. Not only do these services improve the quality of life for residents but the availability of these services enables growth in the number of businesses and residents in our region. For these reasons, one of my primary goals in representing Southwest Virginia is to work with our local governments to obtain federal funding to expand the region’s public water and wastewater infrastructure. With the success we mark today, we can clearly see that our combined efforts have borne fruit.