Charlottesville Open Government Alliance's lawsuit may delay Ragged Mountain dam construction

Plans to construct a dam at the Ragged Mountain site near Fontaine Research Park may be suspended because of a lawsuit filed by the Charlottesville Open Government Alliance, a community group created specifically to protest the dam project which is supposed to start next month.

The plans, which Charlottesville City Council approved Jan. 17, would increase water supply to the city outskirts.

The Alliance, however, contends the dam scheme "effectively sells public property and the rights to our water works without the benefit of a referendum or supermajority vote," according to the group's website.

The Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority hired Thalle Construction Company to build the dam, Alliance representative Joanna Salidis said in an email yesterday.

"The suit asks the court to stop construction and throw out the current agreements," Salidis said. "It is possible that the dam would not be constructed at all, at least in its current form."

Salidis said the lawsuit could possibly force a renegotiation of the contracts, which would then have to be approved by four of the five City councilors, or a referendum of City voters.

An alternative plan set forth by Councilman Dave Norris during his time as mayor called to clear the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir or raise the current Ragged Mountain dam by 13 feet.