Natural Tunnel water project awarded $600,000 grant


Ron Flanary, LENOWISCO - Governor Mark Warner - Paul Fields, Scott Co. PSA Chairman
Photo by Zetta Souder, LENOWISCO PDC

By KEVIN CASTLE - KINGSPORT TIMES NEWS
Published Thursday, June 9, 2005

http://www.timesnews.net/article.dna?_StoryID=3511414

NATURAL TUNNEL - A state park's dependence on well water is nearly at an end.

News was delivered Wednesday from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development and Gov. Mark Warner that the first phase of a project that will pipe public water to the Glenita and Natural Tunnel communities of Scott County will receive an infusion of more than $600,000 in grant money.

The project was one of 18 tapped for Community Development Block Grants by the agency, which doled out a total of more than $10.7 million to aid in water, sewer and housing improvement projects.

"It is great news for our county and for those folks who live near Natural Tunnel,'' said Scott County Public Service Authority Chairman Paul Fields en route from the news conference held in South Boston.

"This is one of three projects that the PSA had placed on its priority list recently. It is not only a water improvement project, but we believe it is going to be a tourism improvement project.

"The park has indicated that they would get started on the project that would have some cabins built inside the park, which we think is going to bring a lot more people to Scott County. Getting public water up there was something that had to be done.''

The official total of the CDBG funding from state housing authorities for the Natural Tunnel project was $608,000.

Park manager Craig Seaver said a jolt of lightning that struck near or in the park Tuesday evening gave a stark reminder of what a public water system will mean to a huge area of land and customers who depend on one well for water.

"That lightning strike caused an electrical surge, which blew out some fuses in a well pump. That left us without water for a while,'' said Seaver.

"Once we got the fuses replaced, we were able to pump water again, but it takes awhile to get the pressure back up. With visitors in the campground, it is a concern.

"Ideally, we would like to have the water lines waiting on us when we start building the cabins, but we are not totally sure of a timetable yet. We tentatively plan to have the cabins designed by spring of 2006.''

Quantity and not quality is the current issue with water in the park, according to Seaver, as the park has never had a contamination of any sort thanks to monthly testing conducted on the well by the Virginia Department of Health.

Seventy-seven homes surrounding the park in the Rye Cove, Glenita and Natural Tunnel areas would be served by the water project.

Lenowisco Planning District Commission Executive Director Ron Flanary said Wednesday that the project is also being considered for funding by the Virginia Department of Health and the Virginia Tobacco Commission.

"We feel confident that with today's announcement of grant funding that we could see more money for the project becoming available in the coming months,'' said Flanary.