Charlottesville, VA… October 16, 2025… Rivanna Water & Sewer Authority will begin work on the Central Water Line Project next week. Construction will start on Lewis St and proceed north towards UVA. Residents living along the pipeline’s path should expect some traffic delays, construction noise, and possible sidewalk detours.
The Central Water Line Project will improve the Urban Area Drinking Water System by installing a finished water transmission pipe through the southern and central portions of Charlottesville. It will be constructed of 24-inch and 30-inch ductile iron pipes and span approximately five miles. The new finished water transmission pipe will connect transmission main pipes from both the South Rivanna Water Treatment Plant and Observatory Water Treatment Plant to allow for better water flow through our community’s systems while providing a backup path for water to travel should another finished water transmission pipe break. This project marks a significant endeavor that will provide immediate benefits upon completion for current and future generations.
Construction Schedule
Phase 1 which spans from Hereford Drive to 10th St NE will be broken into nine different construction stages. The stages are intended to provide local residents and commuters with an estimated timeframe for when work will be performed.
- Stage 1 Hereford Dr/Stadium Rd to Lewis St/Railroad (Map)
- October 2025 to February 2026
- Stage 2 JPA/Railroad to Cleveland Ave/Woodland Dr (Map)
- January 2026 to August 2026
- Stage 3 Cleveland Ave/Woodland Dr to Cherry Ave/Shamrock Rd (Map)
- July 2026 to January 2027
- Stage 4 Cherry Ave/Shamrock Rd to Cherry Ave/Spring St (Map)
- December 2026 to July 2027
- Stage 5 Cherry Ave/Spring St to Roosevelt Brown Blvd/Railroad (Map)
- June 2027 to October 2027
- Stage 6 Cherry Ave/Roosevelt Brown Blvd to Elliott Ave/Ridge St (Map)
- October 2027 to December 2027
- Stage 7 Elliott Ave/Ridge St to 6th St SE/Blenheim Ave (Map)
- December 2027 to April 2028
- Stage 8 6th St SE/Blenheim Ave to 6th St SE/Avon St (Map)
- March 2028 to July 2028
- Stage 9 Avon St to 10th St NE/E Market St (Map)
- April 2028 to November 2028
Working Hours
General working hours will occur Monday through Friday from 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Some night work will be required at the Fontaine Ave & Lewis St intersection, the Cherry Ave & Ridge St intersection, and the 10th St NE & E Market St intersection.
Access
Access to businesses and private property will be provided at all times during the construction. Temporary steel plates will be on-site to facilitate vehicle travel. At the end of each day, all trenched areas will be either backfilled or covered with said steel plates. Patch paving will occur regularly with permanent paving occurring every 60 days.
Commencement of Work (Stage 1)
RWSA’s contractor is expected to begin on Stage 1 in late-October. Construction will start on Lewis St near the railroad tracks and progress north towards UVA. The contractor plans to use a convoy method to excavate dirt, lay pipe, and then backfill. All equipment will work in a single file line with excavators and dump trucks positioned at either end of the construction zone. This method will minimize any potential road closures and allow traffic to pass.
Additional Information
For more information about the project and to sign up for regular updates, please visit https://rivannawater.org/central-water-line-project/ Interested individuals may also watch a recording of RWSA’s public information session held on September 16, 2025, that discusses the project.
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System-Wide Water Infrastructure Upgrades
The Central Water Line is one of several projects currently under construction by RWSA. Over the next five years, RWSA will invest more than $300 million to enhance our urban raw water storage capabilities, raw water transmission pipelines, and transmission pipelines for finished water (treated drinking water). The purpose of these projects is to improve the capacity, redundancy, and resiliency of our drinking water systems. Doing so will help prevent unplanned outages and ensure residents have a constant, reliable, clean supply of water at their tap.
- New Earthen Dam – In 2014, RWSA completed building a new dam at the Ragged Mountain Reservoir.
- Water Treatment Plant Improvements – Recent facility renovations and upgrades have increased treatment capacity.
- Ragged Mountain Reservoir Pool Fill Project – RWSA will fully utilize the reservoir’s storage capacity by adding 700 million gallons of water for a total capacity of 2.1 billion gallons.
- Ragged Mountain Reservoir to Observatory Water Treatment Plant Raw Water Line and Pump Station – A new 36” transmission pipe is replacing two smaller 70 and 100-year-old transmission pipes.
- South Rivanna River Crossing – A large 24” finished water transmission pipe is being added to better support the northern area in Albemarle County.
- Central Water Line – The Central Water Line will provide a high-flow, large-diameter finished water transmission pipe that will better connect RWSA’s treatment facilities, transmission pipes, water storage tanks, and water distribution piping in the urban area.
- South Fork Rivanna Reservoir to Ragged Mountain Reservoir Raw Water Line – The new line and pump station will allow RWSA to fully utilize the South Fork Rivanna Reservoir’s watershed and Ragged Mountain Reservoir’s storage capacity. It will also allow both water treatment plants to pull water from either or both reservoirs.