Rising Cost estimates
Cost estimates for the 50‐year water supply plan
200
A new Ragged Mountain Dam
Water treatment plant upgrades
New 36" 9‐mile pipeline 
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150
$99
connecting reservoirs
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$57
$37
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100
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$49 $49 $49
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In Sept. 2008, the RWSA reported
50
updated cost estimates for the 
Ragged Mountain Dam (in blue) 
$56 $56 $56
ranging between $57 and $99 million.  
The 2007 estimate was $37 million.   
A new firm is being hired to design 
0
the dam in Sept. 2009 and a new cost 
2007 estimate Update 1 Update 2
estimate is expected in Spring 2010.
In September 2008, the City and County reported that the new Ragged Mountain
Dam’s expected cost had grown from $37 million to a range between $56.5
million and $99 million (in 2010 dollars). The new dam is one component of the
water supply plan.
New cost estimates came after consultant Gannett Fleming completed more detailed
geophysical studies for the base of the new dam. They found rock that was more
fractured than expected and the revised estimate related to their proposal to enlarge the
dam’s foundation and make other design modifications. Since a second opinion by
another firm offered an alternative design approach for less costs, the Rivanna
Water and Sewer Authority (RWSA) recommended that a panel of national dam
experts be convened to review the Ragged Mountain Dam design.
In February 2009, that technical review team was identified and charged with determining
how to minimize the construction cost of the dam while assuring dam safety, minimizing
environmental impacts, and achieving the original goals of the water plan. It reported its
findings to the RWSA in April 2009. The technical review team concluded that alternative
approaches to the design of the Ragged Mountain Dam could achieve the same goals at
a cost lower than Gannett Fleming’s high estimate of $99 million. With this divergence in
opinion, the RWSA decided to hire a new engineering firm for the dam. That firm will be
selected in September 2009 and is expected to bring forward a new cost estimate for the
Ragged Mountain Dam in Spring 2010.