with, marginal yields, or those wells with only shallow

with, marginal yields, or those wells with only shallow water bearing zones, would be significantly impacted and could fail.”

Mr. Rice said, “We enjoyed doing the study. It was interesting. We learned a lot about the area.” He said the rainfall in the area is the “reason streams flow year round. They are fed by the groundwater base.”

Current withdrawal in wells is “a small percentage of the groundwater available,” he said.

Particularly in the center of the village there is little soil over the bedrock and the bedrock is not frac‘ tured much, he added.

The well with a reported 60-galIon per minute flow is on land owned by the Clifford Miller family. Piedmont District representative Tom Junk said he doubted that any well in the county produces that much water. Mr. Rice replied that the report was based on information provided by the well drillers. In general, his report suggested wells drilled downstream from the heart of Sperryville had more potential for high yield than those closer to the mountains.

Mr. Junk said Mr. Rice’s report seemed to be supporting a proposal to develop the Miller property. “How many housing units could that area take?” he asked.

Mr. Rice said that “depends on how much you are willing to impact the stream during dry times. There is no clear cut answer.” . County Administrator > John McCarthy said the study shows there is “a finite amount without impacting the. stream flow or existing wells....I don’t think we could have asked for better support for the requirement for hydrogeologic testing in our subdivision ordinance.”

Mr. Rice promised the planners a one-page executive summary of the report. He also agreed to submit a proposal for further testing of water levels in some of the wells in Sperryville over a six-month period.

— By SHARON KILPATRICK