Developer removing contaminated water amid disagreement with city
VIRGINIA BEACH — Groundwater contaminated with high levels of iron and arsenic remains in the hole where a surf lagoon is being built at the Oceanfront, but the project developer is no longer waiting to see if the city will pay to treat and discharge it.
Venture Realty Group began testing a new method to remove the contaminants building up in Atlantic Park’s surf lagoon last week, but more equipment will be needed, according to Mike Culpepper, a principal with the company.
He said Venture decided to advance the money for the water treatment process to keep work going. But the company plans to return to the city with a request for payment after the final cost has been determined.
The city is a partner with Venture on the $325 million project, which also has the backing of celebrity Pharrell Williams.
In January, Culpepper said the city, which owns the land and is leasing it to the developer, should bear the responsibility and pay the roughly $1 million to mitigate
the water problem.
But attorneys working for the city disagreed, stating in a letter that construction of the surf park project had advanced beyond the point of city liability.
“Treatment and disposal of groundwater removed during dewatering is the responsibility of the developer,” city spokesperson Tiffany Russell wrote in an email Friday.
She added that the project’s dewatering permit is in the developer’s name.
“The developer is responsible for complying with its requirements,” Russell said.
The extent of the environmental problem became apparent in the fall when a resident filed a complaint about observing brown water and a rusty film on a cove off Lake Holly, a few blocks south of the Atlantic Park site.
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality inspected the cove and traced the elevated level of contaminants back to the
surf lagoon excavation. The dewatering process stopped Dec. 22, slowing construction of the surf park.
Concrete work along the top edges of the lagoon is proceeding, Culpepper said. The 10-foot excavated area runs along the western side of Pacific Avenue between 18th and 20th streets.
The surf park is still scheduled to open in spring 2025.