Virgil R. Hazelett Reservoir at Cobbs Creek

In 2011, Schnabel commenced work on the new $280 million Cobbs Creek Regional Water Supply Reservoir, located on 1,800 acres in Cumberland County. In planning by owner Henrico County since 2002, the regional water supply project—with a 14.8 billion gallon raw water storage capacity within a 1,100-acre normal pool—is intended to meet customer needs for the next 50 years. Raw water is pumped to the reservoir from the James River when river flows are adequate, and controlled releases from the reservoir are made when the flows in the James River are inadequate to support regional demands. Water is then is captured 50 miles east in Henrico County from the James River—i.e., the river becomes the water conveyance.

Schnabel provided full design services for the 160-foot-high, 3,850-foot-long primary embankment dam; a 30-foot-high, 800-foot-long saddle dam; and associated spillway, outlet works, and maintenance vehicle access bridges. Schnabel also provided full-time construction quality assurance testing and observation for the dams and associated seepage barriers (slurry walls and grout curtains). Construction was completed in 2024.

Our services also included geotechnical engineering to support the design of the river intake, pump station, and transfer pipeline; bid support; and monitoring and inspections of the dam during the first filling of the reservoir. We are currently providing quarterly inspections and instrumentation monitoring of the performance of the dams.