Water System Shutdown Completed 10/18

The Virginia Lakes water system shutdown was completed October 18 after a very successful fall board meeting and a big weekend of work.

This board meeting also marked an important transition, with many of the responsibilities Ross has handled over the years being distributed among other board members. I don’t think many of us fully appreciate just how much Ross has done for the water company, or how much organization and knowledge it takes to keep the system running year after year. A huge ‘thank you!’ to Ross for his many years of service.

The annual shutdown itself is a surprisingly complicated operation. There are nine basic steps, each involving multiple activities. Pumps need to be winterized, the high and low tanks are scrubbed and inspected, and the rest of the system has to be carefully prepared for winter.

There are new wrinkles, too. With the addition of the second solar pump, a larger solar array has been put into service. For winter, the array needs to be reoriented to better align with the prevailing winter winds. (see photo)

An important part of this year’s shutdown was making sure all of that knowledge gets passed along. Eric has created a fully documented shutdown procedure. It’s a detailed manual covering the steps and activities involved in closing the system for winter.

This year’s crew was a mix of veterans and first-timers, which gave us a chance not only to train new people but also to test how usable the new manual is when someone is learning the process.

Having first-time volunteers involved is important for the future of the water system and shows the depth of community participation. Also, it opens the door for others who may want to help, learn how the system works, and become part of future opening and shutdown crews.

This year we had a big shutdown crew: Eric, Chris, Steve, Brian, Ross, Jeff, Niel, Miles, and David. With all those hands, everything was finished in just a day and a half—and we had sunny, cool weather for the job!

And apparently a Virginia Lakes tradition has emerged: grilled cheese for the shutdown crew lunch! There’s nothing quite like a hot grilled cheese sandwich after a morning working on the water system… and then it’s back to work!

Lunch was provided Saturday and Sunday by Cathy, Magee, Tammie, and Lori. Many, many thanks to all four of them for keeping the crew fed! The crew had lunch at Kathy and Eric’s (see the photo).

Thanks to everyone who helped make another successful shutdown happen. It takes a lot of people, a lot of knowledge, and a lot of work behind the scenes to keep Virginia Lakes running. It’s great to see that knowledge being shared with the next group of volunteers.