FAQs
- Tom’s Creek Road from Redbud Road to Meadowbrook Drive,
- Meadowbrook Drive from Tom’s Creek Road to Glade Road,
- Glade Road from US460 Bypass to Meadowbrook Drive,
- Shadow Lake Road from Meadowbrook Drive to Glade Road, and
- The Huckleberry Trail from Prices Fork Road to Linwood Lane to Glade Road.
Where is the Toms Creek Basin?
The basin comprises approximately 4,000 acres west of the US Route 460 Bypass and north of Prices Fork Road (see Study Area Map here). The pattern of ownership is diverse with substantial areas owned by the Town and Virginia Tech. The basin was annexed into the Town in 1973. When surveyed in 1996, residents stressed the importance of preserving the rural character, open spaces, and scenic views of the basin. Blacksburg's Town Council re-affirmed this sentiment in 2022 at its biannual retreat.
What is the reason for the study?
The TCB continues to experience development pressure, as evidenced by residential subdivisions built over the last twenty years. Development of large-lot subdivisions and more intensive planned residential developments comprise much of the area. Increased visitation to the basin for outdoor recreation and existing small-scale, food-based businesses has also increased traffic on the area’s rural two-lane roads.
What is the Town’s vision for future water and sewer service in the Toms Creek Basin?
The Town owns and maintains water mains within the Toms Creek Basin Study area with the main lines being located along
The existing Town sanitary sewer system within the Toms Creek Basin Study area is primarily confined to the existing subdivisions: Brookfield Village, the Villages of Tom’s Creek, Trillium Place, Shadowlake Village, Hubbert Farm, Westover Hills, Karr Heights and Glade Meadow. Unless otherwise approved by the Town Council, new developments within the Basin are required to utilize Septic Tank Effluent Pump (STEP) or Septic Tank Effluent Gravity (STEG) systems which use septic tanks on individual lots to settle the sewage, and the effluent either flows by gravity or is pumped to the Town sewer system. The Town owns and operates the STEP/STEG tanks.
The Toms Creek Basin Study includes a high-level assessment of the existing water and sanitary infrastructure, and an evaluation of potential future infrastructure needs to achieve the alternative land use scenarios that may be considered during the study (or…plan) development. Further detailed analysis beyond the scope of the current study will be required develop infrastructure options, recommendations, and opinions of probable costs to serve and support the future land uses within the Toms Creek Basin.