Program of the Month
Severe to exceptional drought conditions existed throughout most of Virginia during August 2002. Image courtesy of the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Water Supply Planning: Preparing for Virginia’s future water needs
Large areas of Virginia were in a state of emergency due to extreme drought conditions in summer 2002. Localities were experiencing public and private water supply shortages. People were encouraged to stop watering their lawns and washing their cars. Water levels in rivers and recreational lakes around the state were dropping.
“It was a severe and significant drought,” said Terry Wagner, the Department of Environmental Quality’s water resources division director. “We had major metropolitan areas that were 60 to 90 days from being in a real water supply emergency.”
Virginia had been in a drought since 1999, but extreme drought conditions were not widespread and prolonged until 2002.
Although the state was able to remove water use restrictions less than four months after the governor imposed limits in August, it was clear that Virginia needed a comprehensive water supply plan. Localities or regional groups currently develop local water and sewer plans, but these plans lack information that would help Virginia prepare for and respond to a drought or other water supply emergencies on a statewide level.
“This drought was kind of a crystal ball for water supply planning. It allowed us to see the future water supply conditions that will exist as demands for water continually increase,” Wagner said. “It is important to realize that the hydrologic impacts we observed during the late summer of 2002 were due to a lack of precipitation, but in the future a very similar impact could occur during periods of normal precipitation if the demand for water increases significantly.”
Being prepared for the future is crucial because in addition to increasing demand, a “drought will happen again,” Wagner said. “We’re at the point where we have to intelligently manage our water supply.”
That means developing water supply plans that will address the increasing demands for water with a limited supply. With the development of the plans, localities across the state will have a greater understanding of available water supplies, and current and future needs, and will be better prepared for future droughts.
In December 2002, Governor Mark Warner signed Executive Order 39, establishing the Virginia Water Supply Initiative that directed state agencies and local governments to work together to address water supply needs. A bill passed by the 2003 General Assembly also enabled the State Water Control Board to work with local governments, public service authorities and other interested groups to develop a process for developing water supply plans at local, regional and state levels.
As a result of these efforts, DEQ established the water resources management division and the water supply planning program to handle the additional responsibilities.
For the past two years, DEQ and the Virginia Department of Health have been working with a citizens advisory group to write a draft regulation that will establish a process to develop water supply plans. More than 30 representatives from government agencies, academia, business and industry, and environmental groups participated in the group.
DEQ presented the draft regulation to the State Water Control Board on December 2. The board agreed to consider the regulation and authorized public comment opportunities for the draft regulation.
The draft regulation would require counties, cities and towns to submit water supply plans to the water board and provide guidance for the development process. Each plan would have to be approved by local governments and include information (such as descriptions of existing water sources and uses) that is useful to characterize current and future demands on water supplies.
“We will take the information from the localities and incorporate them as part of a state water resource plan,” said Scott Kudlas, DEQ’s water supply planning manager.
Localities would have three to six years to submit a plan, and regional groups would have six years. Under the draft regulation, a review would be required every five years.
DEQ’s responsibilities would include providing technical and financial assistance and information on state permits; identifying acceptable methods for determining future water demands; and announcing public comment opportunities.
The public comment period for this draft regulation is scheduled to begin in spring 2005.
“The water supply issues are very important local issues, and we want as much public participation as possible,” Kudlas said.
DEQ may hold seven public hearings on the draft regulation in different regions of the state. The public would be able to submit comments in writing during the comment period or speak during the public hearings.