Newport News formally ends disputed reservoir project

NEWPORT NEWS— Newport News has formally scrapped a proposed $300 million reservoir that drew opposition from environmentalists.

City Council voted Tuesday to terminate the King William Reservoir project following two decades of planning and more than $55 million in preparatory work. A recommendation to end the project was reported Monday.

In March, a federal judge invalidated a permit for the project issued by the Corps of Engineers. The Justice Department announced in June that it wouldn’t appeal the ruling, which came in a lawsuit filed by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and several other groups.

To keep the project alive, Waterworks Director Brian Ramaley says the city would have to reassess water needs and consider alternatives. He says that would take at least two years and cost several million dollars.