Signs warning swimmers of dangers are already in place
By NICOLE MOORADIAN
Since his son drowned after going over the Jordan’s Point dam on the Maury River, Lexington real estate broker Chuck Volpe has tried to get the dam torn down.
That dam is still standing, but Volpe has worked to require owners of low-head dams in Virginia to post signs warning of the potential dangers.
This month, Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine is expected to sign a bill that limits liability for dam owners who do post such signs.
House Bill 2695, proposed by Del. Ben Cline in early January, asks all owners of low head dams in Virginia to put up buoys and post signs warning of the dangers. Those who do place signs and buoys limit their financial liability to $25,000 in case of injury or death. Those who do not place signs have no limit on liability.
Cline said he introduced the legislation “to make low-head dams across the state safer and avoid tragedies in the future.”
The bill overwhelmingly passed the House at the end of January, and leaders of the House and the Senate signed it at the end of February.
Though the original law required all owners to post warning signs, Volpe said the compromise was a start.
“Next year, we’ll try to stiffen it up a bit,” he said.
Cline expressed similar sentiments.
“If we don’t see a large number of dam owners taking advantage of the law we may have to come back and require it down the line,” Cline said. “But I hope this law will be sufficient encouragement to dam owners to take action.”
Volpe’s quest began at the end of last April, when his son Charles, 16, drowned after strong currents swept him and a friend over the low-head dam at Jordan’s Point. There were no warnings of the dangers of the dam.
The younger Volpe was an accomplished scuba diver with numerous NAUI certifications who planned to study marine biology and law in order to practice environmental law. He was member of the National Honor Society at Rockbridge County High School.
He was the fourth person in 18 months to drown at Jordan’s Point.
The City of Lexington owns the dam at Jordan’s Point. Over the summer, the city posted signs warning of the dam’s hazardous nature. A floating cabling system was also installed to give swimmers something to grab onto in case they were in danger of being swept over the dam.
The floating cabling system, however, was swept away during recent flooding. As of this week, the city has not replaced it.
A low-head dam is usually less than 15 feet high and stretches between the banks of rivers or streams. These types are considered dangerous because they are difficult to spot from upstream. Additionally, someone swept over the dam is trapped in the backwash, which can be very difficult to escape.
Though he wants the dam at Jordan’s Point ultimately removed - which would change the placid surface of the river in residential areas upstream - Volpe seems pleased with the progress his campaign has made. He has offered to pay for the removal of the dam with donations he would raise.
“We’ve gotten a lot of things done in almost a year or so,” he said.
Charles Volpe, Jr.
drowned at
Jordan's Point last April.
Track House Bill 2695
Nicole
Mooradian reports the story
Photos of Jordan's
Point
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Audio interview with Chuck
Volpe |
Produced by Washington and Lee journalism students.
Lead supervisor: Prof. Claudette Artwick
Reporting supervisors:
Technical supervisor: Michael Todd