The Wythe County Board of Supervisors is proud to announce the water line extension from Wytheville to Rural Retreat. The water line extension will consist of 41,000 linear feet of 12" water line. There will be a booster pump station located at the end of the four lane of Route 11 and a water storage tank located on Pine Ridge north of 81 along Radio Drive on property purchased from Fred Brown. The water storage tank will be bolted steel and will have a capacity of 500,000 gallons of water.

This project is 16 years in the making. In 1995 there was a Wythe County Water & Sewer Study prepared that provided a summary of existing County water systems, as well as outlined future water extensions throughout the County. The study recommended that by 2015 water service be provided between Wytheville and Rural Retreat. Presently these residents rely on private wells to meet their water needs.

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In 2009 Peed & Bortz prepared a preliminary engineering report for this water line to be constructed to meet the following objectives:                                            

• Provide water service to approximately 178 county residents along Route 11 between Wytheville and Rural Retreat.
• Provide sufficient water for economic development around exit 60 and 66.
• Provide the Town of Rural Retreat a back-up water supply.

A public meeting was held on May 8, 2008 for the project. Of those who attended sixty-eight (68%) percent were interested in public water. Thirty-eight (38%) percent of those who completed the survey indicated they have experienced water problems or aware of neighbors that had experienced water problems.

The water line is being installed by Prillaman & Pace, Inc. at a cost of $3,592,948.

A water storage tank will be constructed by Mid Atlantic Storage System, Inc. at a cost of $433,800.

Wythe County has secured funding for this project through Rural Development in the form of a $3,316,000 loan with interest rate of 2.375% and a $2,007,000 grant.

This project will connect the Town of Wytheville, the Town of Rural Retreat and the Wythe County water systems.

For a list of Frequently Asked Questions, please click here.

Progress Map

This map shows the progress currently being made on the Rural Retreat to Wytheville Water Line Extension Project. Click on a section of the map to view the area as a larger image.