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About the PHSC - History, background and system description |
A Brief History. In the mid 1970s Frank F. Smith, architect, designer and town planner (plus UVA alumnus and avid sports fan) planned and developed Peacock Hill. It was originally designed as a clustered conservation community to preserve the natural landscape of the stream valleys and steep slopes, and included a clustered mix of housing on the building ridges. His designs included early attempts at both active and passive solar homes that won design awards and national recognition.
A covenant of the community is that everyone must use the water system developed by Mr. Smith. At the time it consisted of 2 wells and a shared septic drain field. As both the community and water system grew, the home owner's association purchased the system in December 1991 and Country Wide Systems of Culpeper, Virginia took over management.
In the late 1990s Sydnor Hydro of Richmond began managing the system. By 2010 home owners started discussing the viability of self management. These discussions continued through 2011 and 2012. On April 30, 2013 they finalized their decision and the Peacock Hill Service Company became a stand alone Virginia corporation managed by a board of Peacock Hill residents and operated by a staff of part time employees. PHSC is fully owned by the Homeowners Association.
A covenant of the community is that everyone must use the water system developed by Mr. Smith. At the time it consisted of 2 wells and a shared septic drain field. As both the community and water system grew, the home owner's association purchased the system in December 1991 and Country Wide Systems of Culpeper, Virginia took over management.
In the late 1990s Sydnor Hydro of Richmond began managing the system. By 2010 home owners started discussing the viability of self management. These discussions continued through 2011 and 2012. On April 30, 2013 they finalized their decision and the Peacock Hill Service Company became a stand alone Virginia corporation managed by a board of Peacock Hill residents and operated by a staff of part time employees. PHSC is fully owned by the Homeowners Association.
Staffing and Operations. The PHSC is run by a homeowner volunteer board with Chairman, Treasurer, Secretary, an HOA liaison, plus other homeowner representatives. System operations is performed by 3 part-time employees: a manager, water operator, and book-keeper. Each year at the annual HOA meeting the PHSC provides a presentation describing the previous year's operations. The links below contain presentations from 2015 - 2017. More recent presentations can be found at the Peacock Hill HOA website.
Description of System. As of June 2020 there are 8 wells, 2 of which are offline, and 2 water tanks, which serve 170 connections and 480 users. Pumps at the wells feed the 2 tanks through a complex of underground pipes. One tank is located mid-way up Deer Crest Heights, the "lower tank", holds 25,000 gallons. The second tank is at the top of Gilliams Mtn Rd, the "upper tank", and holds 15,000 gallons. Water is gravity fed to home owners from these tanks. There are also 4 community septic drain fields which are maintained by the PHSC used by approximately 40 homeowners. All other homeowners have their own septic tanks and drain fields.
Small water systems such as the PHSC are very common. Per 2007 USGS statistics over 50% of community water systems serve populations of 500 or less. HOWEVER the percent of the overall population served is only 2%. So-called "large" systems, serving over populations of over 10,000 represent less than 10% of all systems, but serve over 90% of the population.
The PHSC uses ground water pumped via its wells. Alternatively large systems use surface water. Ground water lies in aquifers beneath the earth's surface. Surface water is from lakes and reservoirs. The following graphic from the USGS illustrates.
Small water systems such as the PHSC are very common. Per 2007 USGS statistics over 50% of community water systems serve populations of 500 or less. HOWEVER the percent of the overall population served is only 2%. So-called "large" systems, serving over populations of over 10,000 represent less than 10% of all systems, but serve over 90% of the population.
The PHSC uses ground water pumped via its wells. Alternatively large systems use surface water. Ground water lies in aquifers beneath the earth's surface. Surface water is from lakes and reservoirs. The following graphic from the USGS illustrates.
Water Usage Statistics. PHSC wells produce from 45,000 to over 200,000 gallons of water each month depending on the well. The community as a whole consumes about 1.36 million gallons per 2 month billing period. (This represents approximately two Olympic swimming pools.) The following bar chart shows monthly well water production for 2020 in gallons per month for each well being used. Wells 3 and 4 are currently off line due to production and quality issues.
Based on 2020 billing statements, the average Peacock Hill household uses 7,900 gallons of water per 2 month billing period. Per the EPA a person uses from 80-100 gallons of water a day (with toilet and bathroom consumption representing about 27%). The following histogram shows the overall distribution of households by water consumption per 2 month billing period for all of 2020. Note: Occasionally some households may use well in excess of 100,000 gallons of water in a billing period due to leaks, unattended water hoses, plumbing problems, etc. High consumption caused by these issues is not included in the histogram.
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Infrastructure Map. The map below illustrates the infrastructure as of 2022. Note the blue lines - primary water lines, and the green lines, sewage lines. All 8 wells are shown, although wells 3 and 4 are currently off-line, and the 4 shared septic drain fields. The pumps at each well and the two tanks are automatically controlled via a real-time data acquisition and monitoring system installed in August 2018. PHSC staff can also access and manage the system using smart phones and PCs. Real-time pump activity and tank water levels are monitored and controlled.
