Lake Anna Special Area Plan

Purpose

The Lake Anna Special Area Plan is the result of a unique planning effort undertaken by the Boards of Supervisors of Louisa, Orange, and Spotsylvania Counties at the request of the Lake Anna Advisory Committee (LAAC). LAAC, created in 1994 by the three localities under the Joint Exercise of Powers provisions in the Code of Virginia, has been advising the three counties about Lake-related issues since the committee's inception. This Plan is the culmination of the work of the Special Area Plan Committee appointed by the three Boards of Supervisors. The primary issue addressed in the Plan is the quality of the water in the Lake and its tributaries. A consistent regional approach is recommended for local action to preserve and protect Lake Anna's water quality. This approach recognizes the regional nature of the watershed and the local authority for implementing the recommendations. The Plan is submitted to the Boards of Supervisors to accept as a regional plan for incorporation into each local plan.

Major Findings

Data developed during the planning process include: population distribution and growth, water quality in the lake and its tributaries, land use, road capacity, soils, steep slopes, percentage of impervious cover, land cover, lots less than five acres, land values, and public services. These data were used in developing this plan and are presented in the plan text or the appendices. Major findings include:

• Development patterns of sprawl threaten the rural character, the environment, and the existing quality of life in the Lake Anna Watershed
• Land use practices vary throughout the Watershed
• Responsibility for on-going review of environmental conditions in the Watershed is unclear
• The environmental data base necessary for responsible and informed decision-making is not available
• River tributaries are impaired due to levels of pollutants; one has severe acid mine drainage
• The circumferential road system recommended when the Lake was created has not been completed
• Gas and petroleum transmission lines cross the Lake and the Watershed, posing a threat to public safety and the environment
• Public access to the Lake is limited
• Heavy metals data, though sparse, is cause for concern

Study Conclusions

Lake Anna is a valuable economic, recreational, and visual asset to the Commonwealth of Virginia and to the three counties in which it is located. It is essential that the value of this significant asset be protected and enhanced in all respects. Local and state government action and resources, combined with citizen education and action, are needed to preserve the desirable qualities of the Lake for both current and future generations. Acting now will prevent more costly and more extensive efforts in the future. The original plan for managing the development around the Lake was prepared by Virginia Power in the late 1960s. The local governments did not adopt that plan. Without a governing plan, the resulting development has occurred at higher densities and with less open space than that recommended in Virginia Power's plan, even though building has occurred on less than half of the currently platted lots. Even without additional rezonings, the population in the Lake area would double if the currently approved development is completed. This represents a critical situation since a significant percentage of the land in the Watershed is unsuitable for septic fields. These and other factors contribute to a real and growing concern for the quality of the water in the Lake. For example, the water quality in several streams that feed into the Lake is impaired. One of these streams is 1.2 miles up the Lake from the State Park swimming beach. Insufficient monitoring data exist to assess several aspects of the quality of the water in the Lake itself. Further, the differing approaches taken by the three counties to land use planning and stream protection do not assure that the most effective techniques are brought to bear consistently across the Watershed. From an economic perspective, it is prudent for local and state funds to be invested in the Watershed. Tourism income and real estate values contribute significantly to the economies of the Watershed. Public safety needs are sufficient in themselves to warrant governmental action. The existing network of roads that connect and interconnect around the Lake are woefully inadequate for the nature and frequency of use they receive. As the population increases, these roads will become even more unsatisfactory and hazardous for daily use. There is also a major concern about the adequacy of these roads as evacuation routes should an event at the plant, pipeline leaks, natural disaster, or some other cause require evacuation of the area. The Lake Anna Special Area Plan Committee recommends that in implementing all of the recommendations made in the Special Area Plan that the Boards of Supervisors of the Counties of Louisa, Orange and Spotsylvania give first priority to the seven priority recommendations.

Priority Recommendations

1. Create a Lake Anna Watershed Overlay District in all three counties consisting of two tiers: Inner Ring and Watershed. The purpose of the Overlay District is to maintain the rural character of the area by implementing a cooperative, coordinated, consistent watershed program for Lake Anna.
   • Develop, implement, and enforce uniform zoning, site plan, subdivision, and watershed management programs in all three counties, using consistent standards to ensure water quality.
   • Evaluate all land use activities in the Overlay District primarily in terms of the effect on water quantity and quality.
   • Maintain densities at a level that can be served by well and septic systems or require wastewater treatment systems to tie into a municipal system.
2. The Lake Anna Advisory Committee will track progress toward meeting goals of this plan, and prepare and submit annual reports on the progress.
3. Assure the conditions in the Lake and its tributaries are monitored and reported on an on-going basis.
   • Institute on-going monitoring of the tributaries to detect nutrients and pollutants, with emphasis on impaired streams.
   • Determine sources of fecal contamination and implement appropriate reduction strategies that respect the value of agricultural uses currently in place.
   • Institute a water quality monitoring program in the Lake itself to determine presence of heavy metals, nutrients, and pollutants.
4. Identify village centers and concentrate public service activities and commercial development in those centers. Provide public water and sewer services only within growth centers.
   • Restrict services to within growth center (towns, villages) boundaries
   • Prevent proliferation of private waste water treatment plants
   • Require well casings to bedrock
5. Upgrade existing roadways to create a circular transportation route around Lake Anna to provide adequate lanes for towed boats and bicycles. Ensure roads provide safe evacuation routes.
6. Develop plans to deal with potentially catastrophic situations related to gas and petroleum transmission lines and/or upstream dam breaks.
7. Support state park improvements that are developed with adequate citizen participation in the decision-making process.