Well, septic ordinance reviewed

By Kim Walter -- kwalter@nvdaily.com

FRONT ROYAL -- While Wednesday night's work session didn't bring about a final recommendation, members of the Warren County Planning Commission reviewed a revised ordinance concerning the required distance between well and septic systems.

Different opinions and facts were offered, but by the meeting's end, Chairman Mark Bower's opinion was to not change the ordinance.

Originally adopted in 1991 for one specific area, the ordinance changed in 2001 to cover the entire county. It requires at least 100 feet from well to drainfield, well to well, and well to distribution box. The state set a minimum of 0 feet, leaving it up to localities to choose the distance that best suits their geography, according to an explanation given by Planning Director Taryn Logan.

Not enough distance between septic systems and wells can have an effect on water quality, as well as land usage, she said.

Throughout October and November of 2011, the Board of Supervisors discussed revising parts of the ordinance after it was requested by the Warren County Builders Association that distances be changed from 100 to 50 feet. The board requested that the Planning Commission review the current and amended ordinance, as well as associated research.

Logan said that over the past 20 years, her department has seen 66 cases in which homeowners had "hardship" and requested a variance with the ordinance. The variances, which require a 30-day process, allow shorter distances than the minimum requirement and cost the owner $100.

Local contractor Hugh Henry represented the builders association at the work session, and claimed that a lot of home and landowners were missing the distance requirements by a few feet, and that the process to get a variance was a hassle. Some lots are now useless because new septic systems on either side of it make it impossible to meet the requirement, he said.

"We've had homeowners come to our meetings and cry," Henry said, adding that many people might not know about the variance availability.

Dee Schools, a Shenandoah Farms resident, fears the 50-foot minimum and gave several accounts of neighbors whose wells have gone dry, as well as wells with E. coli.
"This is not a joke," Schools said.

Bower requested information about specific variance cases for the commission's next meeting Wednesday at 7 p.m. so that they could make a formal recommendation to the board.

"Unless I hear that this [variance] process isn't working, I don't think it would be good planning to relax the standards," Bower said.