County meeting draws large turnout over state dam-safety letters and local dry-hydrant concerns

The Board of Supervisors hosted a large public discussion on dam-safety outreach after the state Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) said it had recently sent letters to a small set of local owners as part of a statewide inventory and screening process.

Andrea Henry, a DCR representative, told the board the agency is focused on public safety and inventorying dams that meet state regulatory thresholds: "We have anywhere from 2,400 to 2,500 dams that are considered state regulated dams," she said, and most of those are privately owned. Henry described the agencys new screening tools, preliminary inundation mapping and a subsidized option for low-hazard owners: "You can pay DCR $2,000 to do an inundation study to confirm that you're a low hazard dam," she said, and DCR offers a simplified general registration for eligible owners.

Local dam owners and residents said the letters and preliminary classifications caused alarm and practical worries. Cheryl Johnson, who said she lives on Johnsons Mill Pond, described earlier breaches and the uncertain chain of responsibility for a road built across the pond: "VDOT says they don't build dams. But they built a really nice road bed that holds back a pond. The DCR is calling that the dam," she said, adding that she is worried about potential costs and the possibility of losing the dry hydrant that volunteer fire departments rely on.

Bruce Carr, a volunteer firefighter, emphasized the operational risk of losing local pond water: "We use Johnson Mill Pond as a dry hydrant to [serve] our Sedley community," he said, explaining that alternative fill sites are 20 to 30 minutes away. Several board members said the dry-hydrant function and fire-suppression consequences should weigh heavily in any next steps.

DCR staff described enforcement as rarely used and dependent on hazard classification and a formal process; the agency also outlined grant programs and reimbursement rules for eligible private dam owners and offered to provide inventory data and viewer access to local officials and owners. Board members asked DCR to continue outreach and pledged to organize a follow-up meeting that would include the countys state legislative delegation.

The board said it would report back at the next meeting with recommended procedural steps and contacts for affected owners. "We're definitely not gonna let it drop," the chair said. "We'll get back to the public by next meeting with what steps we're going to take."