VIRGINIA – As crews work to battle the Matts Creek wildfire, 10 News is working for you to find out if any water bans or restrictions are in place to preserve those resources for firefighters.
Currently, there are no water restrictions or bans impacting residents or businesses in communities near the wildfire.
The Bedford Regional Water Authority covers all of Bedford County. The director of administration, Megan Pittman, told 10 News that firefighters are not pulling water from their service area. Pittman said the authority is closely monitoring water tank levels and is prepared to produce more water if needed, adding that there are backup water stores.
“We are in contact with the other localities and the local fire department to help us learn if anything changes on where they are pulling water. We are also closely monitoring our water tank levels; if we start to see a level start to drop more rapidly, we will increase water production to keep up with the demands. At this time, we do not have any plans to place any water restrictions or bans on our customers,” said Pittman in an email to 10 News.
Lynchburg officials said they do not have water use restrictions either.
“The water use and fire has no impact to our system. The use of water from the James River to fight the fire has an insignificant impact to the total volume of water flowing in the James,” wrote Anna Bentson, the city’s director of communications and public engagement.
Western Virginia Water Authority officials tell 10 News they do not have any water use restrictions, but said, “we always encourage customers to use water wisely.”
The WVWA has a drought contingency plan based on the level of the Carvins Cove reservoir. Authority officials tell 10 News they typically expect the reservoir to be low in late summer to early winter. Winter and early spring rains tend to replenish the reservoir with an increased amount of runoff.
Although many parts of Southwest Virginia are experiencing drought conditions, the reservoir is not depleted enough to enact restrictions.
“Carvins Cove is currently 10.4 feet below the spillway. While this is just a little bit lower than we would normally see in November, we would have to reach a point that is twice as low (20 feet below the spillway) before our voluntary water conservation measures would begin,” said Sarah Baumgardner, the WVWA’s director of public relations.
Lexington leaders tell 10 News they do not plan to restrict water use.
“We All remain hopeful the fires will be contained and damages minimized,” wrote Lexington Mayor Frank Friedman.
Rockbridge County’s Fire-Rescue Chief Nathan Ramsey confirmed they do not have water restrictions either.
“For this type of forest fire situation, large quantities of water generally is not required for extinguishment. The method most widely used, is creating fire lines by removing the fuel such as leaves, brush and trees if needed to expose bare soil that is not combustible, then let the fire burn to that line and not go any further,” said Ramsey in an email. “The helicopters normally use pre-established water sources such as area rivers and ponds to fill up the baskets.”
David McDaniel, the Rockbridge County Supervisor for the Natural Bridge District, told 10 News in an email, “We will work with the firefighters and Forestry Department in any way that we can to help them battle this fire.”