News and notes from Reston (tm).

Monday, May 3, 2010

RELAC Opens the Floodgates (Maybe); Rate Hike Hearing Scheduled This Evening in Air-Conditioned Building

800px-Reston,_Virginia_-_Lake_Anne_plaza.jpgSo, is Reston's favorite jet-aged tepid water-powered cooling system on or not? It may be hard to tell, but the company says it is.

With the steamy forecast for the weekend, we have the opportunity to utilize the changes you have suggested for starting the system. I wanted to let you know that we have started circulating chilled water. From what I have heard, Vantage Hill is currently not receiving chilled water, they have been doing maintenance to their system and plan to turn their valves on Monday. We have been checking the mains and bleeding air from the system but there may still be some work to do. We would expect that by day end (5/1) that all areas should be receiving chilled water. Any customers who are having issues can call our customer service at 877-987-2782 to set up an appointment with a technician.

Gregory Odell
Chief Operating Officer
Aqua Virginia, Inc.
Tonight is the second of two State Corporation Commission hearings on RELAC's proposed rate increase. The hearing will be held at 7pm at the Fairfax County Government Center -- which, we have it on good authority, is cooled by some crazy, johnny-come-lately technology called "air conditioning." What crackpots!

19 comments:

  1. Oh, yuck, I feel sorry for the folks who have been without a/c the last few days.

    Is Relac limited to the places on Washington Plaza and across the street in Hickory Cluster? Or is it more extensive than that?

    ReplyDelete
  2. How nice of AQUA VA for turning the system on early. Now all they need to do is make the system work...I'm not holding my breath.

    ReplyDelete
  3. As a 4th-floor resident in Vantage Hill, I can emphatically tell you that we did not have ANY A/C all weekend long. Today, there is not 'cool' but, rather... 'not-hot' air trickling from the registers. Inside temperature remains a balmy 82. Thanks, RELAC!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lake Anne is for LoversMay 3, 2010 at 11:00 AM

    Who else is excited to have lake water pumped throughout their homes? I know I certainly am!!

    Although, I must admit I'm even more excited to have one of the pipes bust and gush lake water into my home. I'll get to experience all Lake Anne has to offer right in the comfort of my own home.

    Maybe RA can pitch in and provide RELAC users with Robert E Simon cardboard cutouts for their sofas. It will provide the je ne sais quoi of Lake Anne while cleaning up the bio-hazard in your living room.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hot and Moist on Lake AnneMay 3, 2010 at 3:59 PM

    Lake Anne 11:00,

    I am no fan of RELAC (a RELIC that is long past its useful life), but the fact is that RELAC does not circulate "lake" water. Water from the Lake Anne is utilized inside the Plant to absorb the some of the heat generated from the process that "chills" the water which IS being circulated. The "heated" Lake water is them returned to the Lake -- not a good thing for the Lake, but that's another story. The water that is being circulated is chemically treated to reduce deposits (and other bad things), and is in fact not something you want to come into cantact with for any period of time.

    The system sucks, but you will have to experience all that Lake Anne has to offer some other ways.

    ReplyDelete
  6. The Night Was HumidMay 3, 2010 at 7:04 PM

    Basically, the hot water goes back into the lake and kills off the fish.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Broke in Charter Oak (BiCO): Soon-to-Be "Amongst the 'Hoods in Colvin Woods" and Eventually "Arlington's Sexiest Simpleton (ASS)"May 4, 2010 at 6:37 AM

    @ The Night Was Humid: I thought the elderly gentleman who is always swimming in the lake killed off all the fish?

    ReplyDelete
  8. No, the lake was overfished by that little old Asian lady from Northgate.

    ReplyDelete
  9. The meeting seemed to go well. A bunch of people spoke about the extensive problems they've had with the system and lack of customer service from Aqua VA and one man spoke about how his works just fine. He did say though that the other customers deserve the same level of service he receives and that should be looked into. Compared to the balmy, humid evening outside the interior of the Fairfax County building felt awesomely refreshing with it's fancy "air conditioning" system.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Balmy on Lake AnneMay 4, 2010 at 4:13 PM

    Did anyone get the address of the person whose system works "just fine". I'm spending August at his house.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Could that mysterious man without a complaint be our very own HKCD?

    ReplyDelete
  12. Balmy on Lake AnneMay 4, 2010 at 9:18 PM

    Only one way to know -- was he wearing a powdered wig?

    ReplyDelete
  13. I unfortunately did not attend the meeting in Fairfax.

    Though, Balmy, you are welcome to come over for a cool glass of lemonade in my refreshingly cool RELAC powered air conditioned home.

    Seriously though, I'm glad someone whose service is also fine came out to tell the powers that be RELAC works for some people. Though he was considerate to point out that the level of service he enjoys should be experienced by all customers on the system.

    When I went to the meeting at RA HQ back in March when these hearings were first discussed, there were a few others besides myself who had positive things to say about RELAC, though we were in the distinct minority.

    I wonder, do those whose service is unsatisfactory have unrealistic expectations, or does the system just not work at all in their homes?

    BTW, you actually have to turn a valve in your system to allow the water to flow past your condenser... My neighbor was complaining until that fact was pointed out....

    ReplyDelete
  14. Balmy on Lake AnneMay 4, 2010 at 10:09 PM

    Thanks for the invitation, how about I spend Augst over there?

    ReplyDelete
  15. What sort of unrealistic expectations could one have about air conditioning? Shouldn't it be realistic for a system to cool a house?

    ReplyDelete
  16. Does anyone have information on how to go about getting the covenant regarding RELAC?

    How would one go about getting a covenant revoked?

    ReplyDelete
  17. lake anne is for lovers....i needed a good laugh! sorry it was at yours& others expense!

    ReplyDelete
  18. How cold do you need your home to be? Our house is a cool 65 in aug with relac running. Do you really need it to be sub zero?
    With love, hckd' s wife.

    ReplyDelete
  19. 12:09-I think this is the language in the docs that is applicable-

    (15) Air-Conditioning Units. In any residential Cluster in which central airconditioning
    service is available to the Lot line, no individual air-conditioning units of any
    type shall be permitted. This covenant may only be amended or revoked by at least a two thirds
    vote of the Category A Members of all residential Clusters on the service.

    From the Deed of Dedication, VI.2.b.15

    https://www.reston.org/Portals/3/Inside%20RA/Reston%20Association%20Governance/Governing%20Documents/Deed.pdf
    page 32

    Assuming I am correct that this is the RELAC clause, I don't know what the legal argument is that has individuals getting around this by claiming health issues.

    ReplyDelete

(If you don't see comments for some reason, click here).