Over objections of a vocal group of citizens, the James River Water Authority (JRWA) unanimously approved a motion to move forward with an application to the Army Corps of Engineers to construct a water pumping station atop a site the Monacan Indian Nation believes to be the remains of their historic capital of Rassawek.
A Virginia utility is proposing to build a raw water intake and pump station on a sacred Monacan Indian Nation heritage site. In a letter to the James River Water Authority and local leaders, SELC and Preservation Virginia urged the utility to select an alternative location.
It has come to my attention that several of you are assuring your constituents that the Monacan Indian Nation will capitulate to the destruction of its historic capital at Rassawek on Point of Fork if the James River Water Authority “writes a big enough check to the Indians.”
The Monacan Indian Nation says it wants to work with the James River Water Authority to determine if a site two miles upstream from the planned pump station and water pipeline is a reasonable alternative.
People packed the Spring Creek Clubhouse in Zion Crossroads for a meeting about the James River Water Authority’s project to bring water to Fluvanna and Louisa counties on Wednesday. The James River Water Authority Board voted to move forward on its water project to bring a water supply from the James River to the Zion Crossroads area of Louisa and Fluvanna counties.
Despite 50 people speaking in opposition, the James River Water Authority will submit an application with a Monacan Indian Nation heritage site as the preferred location for a proposed raw water intake and pump station in Fluvanna County.
It’s been more than a decade since Louisa and Fluvanna Counties started planning a water pipeline from the James River to areas they hoped to develop, and Wednesday the local water authority will vote on where to build an essential pumping station.
The James River Water Authority has strongly denied allegations of improper conduct during an archeological dig near the site where Louisa County hopes to draw its future public water supply.
The Monacan Indians have a rich and important history in Central Virginia that must be preserved. When I taught fourth grade at Stone-Robinson Elementary in Albemarle County, my students were interested to know about the Monacan people, and how they lived along the Rivanna River behind our school.
No one doubts that layers of history lie at this spot southeast of Charlottesville where the Rivanna River flows into the James. Abandoned canal locks loom like castle walls; Revolution-era buildings stand in ruins nearby.