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The combination of floodplain soils and a high water table combine to “make Sperryville an area unsuitable for large-scale intensive development” and to produce a DRASTIC index of 133, according to the PEC report.
The recently constructed sewer system for the village has only “mitigated somewhat the environmental hazards posed by large numbers of failed or malfunctioning septic systems,” the report goes on to say. And a great deal of the land along Route 211 with this same index rating is not served by the collection and treatment system, Mr. McCarthy pointed out. “We need to keep an eye on development proposals there,” he cautioned.
Poe’s Cabin’s 130 rating is attributable to very shallow depths to ground water and floodplain type soils, “an anomoly for the area,” Mr. McCarthy added. The same conditions give the Covington River and Laurel Mills their respective ratings of 129 and 121. “Concerns about subdivisions there (in the Laurel Mills area) would be particularly acute,” the county administrator said.
The area north of the village of Amissville gets its 120 rating from moderate depth to both ground water and rock and from its sandy loam-type soils.
But the six areas identified as having the highest potential for pollution are high only for Rappahannock; they fall into the mid-range of DRASTIC’S evaluation system, according to Mr. McCarthy. “There’s no land in Rappahannock County classified as either the most susceptible or the next most susceptible to ground water contamination," he told the Planning Commissioners.
“The map and the numbers don’t really tell you anything absolute,” Mr. Dennis noted. “It simplies compares parts of the county.” And compared with the Shenandoah Valley and other places with limestone geology, “Rappahannock is fer less likely to suffer ground water pollution,” he added. , / - And the PEC"report notes that
94.5%