Mint Springs Valley Park temporarily closed on Friday, August 9, after a failed culvert pipe made its way through the road surface at the entrance to the park following heavy rains from Tropical Storm Debby. Central Virginia saw several inches of residual rainfall during Debby’s trek north, and the high water levels forced the pipe through the pavement. This isn’t the first time this particular culvert has caused trouble. “This is the same location where the pipe was replaced in 2020,” says Albemarle’s Superintendent of Parks Jim Barbour. “However, the cause of the 2020 failure was … an old and degraded galvanized culvert pipe.” Debby’s effects also prompted the county’s swimming beaches—at Chris Greene Lake, Walnut Creek, and Mint Springs—to close until water levels fall.
Related stories
Charlottesville recharges its e-bike voucher program
Charlottesville has updated and expanded last year’s voucher program to help city residents afford battery-powered e-bikes. Every quarter, the city will give away 12 vouchers in each of three tiers: $500 for any applicant (Tier 1); $1,000 for people earning less than or equal to 80 percent of the area median income (Tier 2); and […]
Planning Commission recommends approval of small changes to city’s zoning code
When Charlottesville City Council adopted a new zoning code in late 2023, it wanted to help developers make it easier to build new places to live. The city’s Department of Neighborhood Development Services is moving forward with changes designed to further that goal. “We’re jumping into 2026 with lessons learned, and to try to move […]
UCWVA lobbies lawmakers for full restoration of public sector collective bargaining rights
Organizers with the United Campus Workers of Virginia met at the state capitol in Richmond January 16, calling on the General Assembly to support two bills that would restore collective bargaining rights for state employees. “We had some really good conversations, both with allies that we’ve been working with for a long time, and then […]
