KING WILLIAM RESERVOIR MITIGATION
CITY OF NEWPORT NEWS, VA
 The King William Reservoir (KWR) Mitigation Project is the result of an expansion of an existing water supply system for approximately 400,000 individuals on the lower Virginia Peninsula. The Williamsburg Environmental Group, Inc. (WEG) Team is performing planning, design, regulatory approval and construction oversight of the stream and wetland mitigation requirements contained in The City of Newport News, Department of Public Utilities (Waterworks) Virginia Water Protection Permit (VWPP), Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC), and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers operation and construction permits. Specifically, WEG is completing environmental resource surveys; Inter-Agency Mitigation Team (IMT) coordination; detailed stream and wetland mitigation planning, and design; agency permitting, contractor coordination, and construction oversight activities for all mitigation sites chosen for the project, with efforts totaling over 800 acres of wetland mitigation and 21 miles of stream mitigation.
Team members are responsible for wetland and stream mitigation site identification, assessment, and selection. Conceptual Plans for all sites which are determined to have value for stream and/or wetland mitigation are being created and presented to all appropriate governmental agencies for review. Working in conjunction with these agencies, the best sites will be selected to move to final design and construction. Final regulatory and construction plans will then be produced which highlight design and construction methods for stream enhancement, restoration or preservation and wetland creation or restoration. As a part of the overall mitigation plan for the project, wetland and stream mitigation banks in the watershed will be evaluated for potential use. WEG, who is responsible for more than 50 percent of the project work, has teamed with Camp Dresser & McKee (CDM), Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc. (WSSI), and Kerr Environmental on this monumental project in order to ensure timely, cost-effective project completion according to critical time and budget constraints. This project team provides many years of experience and expertise in the areas of jurisdictional determinations, wetland and stream hydrology, soils, botany, geomorphology, wetland and stream mitigation design, fish passage planning and design, and regulatory permitting and agency coordination which is paramount as the scrutiny given a project of this magnitude requires an in-depth knowledge of the regulatory environment, regulatory personnel, and permit language in order to manage and coordinate the approval process.
Among the challenges facing the design team is the cultural resources potential throughout the entire project area. This portion of King William County is rich in both Revolutionary War and Civil War history as well as home to several Indian tribes. As such, a team of archeology firms has also been included on the team and is assessing each site for its unique cultural value. The team’s intention is to avoid disturbing any significant discoveries. Areas identified as possibly containing artifacts will be dealt with in such a way as to preserve the value for future generations.
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