Chesterfield begins construction of flood wall around Swift Creek plant
Posted June 9, 2025 at 9:27 PM, Filed Under: All News, Front Page, MeetingsBy Greg Pearson
The 1,500-foot flood wall around the Swift Creek water treatment plant is under construction, and the four-month long pile driving effort is expected to start on or about June 20th. County officials report that 441 piles are to be sunk to protect the plant from flooding on three sides.
The noise from the pile driving will occur between 8 am and 6 pm on weekdays and be noticeable to nearby residents and motorists on Hull Street Road near the treatment plant. The pile driving will end after four months.
The flood wall will prevent flooding of the plant that has occurred twice in the past 7 years. Hurricane Michael flooded the plant in October, 2018 and put the plant out of service for a month.
And on August 15, 2020, an unnamed storm anchored over the Swift Creek Reservoir and dropped 11 inches of rain in a few hours. That torrential storm shut down the treatment plant for 9 months. Brandermill Country Club reported that the water rose to six feet above its 9th green, washing away part of its golf cart path of blacktop pavement.
The flood wall construction will cost $21 million, which includes an $8.7 million grant from
federal sources. Anne Urenda, a principal engineer with the Chesterfield Utilities Department,
said she didn’t know if the federal government might “claw back” any of its funding. Urenda and
Mike Larson, an engineering supervisor with the utilities department, were the featured speakers
at the June 5 monthly meeting of the Brandermill Region Men’s Club (BRMC).
The flood wall construction period is expected to end in July next year. The height of the wall will vary with some portions being 18 feet tall.
The second part of the speaker program for the BRMC covered a new, fourth source of drinking water. Currently, Chesterfield has three drinking water sources: Swift Creek Reservoir with a maximum capability of 12 million gallons daily (mgd); the Appomattox River Authority with a maximum capacity of 66 mgd; and the James River (from the city of Richmond) at 32 mgd. With a total of 110 mgd available, the peak usage for Chesterfield thus far on any day is 70 mgd.
Because Chesterfield is experiencing the fastest population growth of any county in Virginia, it recently purchased land near Point of the Rocks Park in eastern Chesterfield for a fourth water source. According to Larson, who is heading up the project for Chesterfield, there is the “potential for 80 mgd when the water treatment plant opens in 2033.” Currently, the county is conducting water sampling tests for the next two years.
Additionally, the county has already announced it is seeking to provide land for data centers to be built in the Westchester Commons development off Route 60 and also adjacent to the Magnolia Green community off Rt. 360. Data centers are known to utilize considerable water.
To see the 10-slide PowerPoint presentation on the developing water treatment plant, click here.
At the end of the BRMC meeting, there were reports of dead catfish and opened but dead mussels in Sunday Park from the club’s membership and guests. By email later that day, Larson reported “the [Swift Creek Treatment] plant has confirmed that they are taking regular samples of water in the reservoir and the water quality is suitable for treatment at our plant. The plant is aware of the observations of floating mussels. According to our Biologist, there are several factors that contribute to mussels surfacing. Weather, wind, water quality, temperature, depth, carp, muskrats are some of the factors. Overall, the amount of mussels is not too dissimilar to previous years, but this year has had a much narrower time window. Water temperatures have been warmer earlier in the year before dropping recently, and wind speeds have been slightly above normal this spring. Our Biologist spoke with Scott Hermann at the Department of Wildlife Resources, and he confirmed that this phenomenon has been observed at other bodies of water in Virginia this year. Mr. Hermann is going to discuss further with DWR counterparts who focus on freshwater mussels and will coordinate with the Plant staff.”
Annually, the BRMC goes on hiatus for July and August. The speaker for the September program will be Chesterfield Police Chief Edward Carpenter. Over the past 25 years, Col. Carpenter has been working his way through the ranks within the department. He will be addressing the BRMC at 10 am on Thursday, September 4th at the Brandermill Church.