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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 8,1999
Our View
Water
Supervisors commended for tabling
issue indefinitely.
It’s not the initial investment, it’s the upkeep. ”
This sage advice, which can be applied to anything from drafty old mansions to surplus battleships, also applies to private utility systems.
While the “gift” of a central water system serving the Wildwood Forest development across the line in Culpeper County and possibly some homes in Amissville might seem attractive, the Rappahannock Board of Supervisors was wise to table the issue indefinitely at their meeting on Dec. 6.
The fact that Tim Moore, owner of the system has been unable to sell it to anyone wishing to take it on as a commercial venture indicates that for whatever reason, the possibilities of making money on the operation probably isn’t there.
And the fact that Culpeper County has rejected the idea of assuming ownership and operating the system for its own tax-paying citizens tells us something else: that acquiring such a system and all that comes with it offers fewer advantages than walking away from it. , Questions about the operation and the quality of the water delivered represent huge risks for anyone, whether they are private businesses or public bodies. And once you are responsible, you can’t allow the system to fail, regardless of the cost. * Unfortunately, even those directly affected — the $5 property owners hooked up to the system — have limited options. No homeowners association exists in Wildwood Forest, and even if one did, getting into the utility business would be financially out of the question.
.1 With a public water system in Washington but no aewer, and a sewer system in Sperryville but no public water, it seems clear that if Rappahannock County ;is thinking about toward getting into the public utilities business, it has work to do a lot closer to home.
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