As Virginians, water is one of our most treasured natural resources. Whether you live near the coast, the piedmont, or among the mountains and valleys, water is never far from sight or mind. To the east lies the expansive Chesapeake Bay, fed by rivers like the James and the Potomac. Under our feet, much of the eastern part of the state enjoys one of the most productive groundwater aquifer systems in the country. However, these bountiful resources need proactive planning and management. 

The Water Supply Planning (WSP) program was created after the 2001-2002 drought. Its goal is to ensure adequate and safe drinking water is available to all Virginians, while encouraging, promoting, and protecting aquatic life, recreation, and other beneficial uses. The water supply planning process is a long-term collaborative effort involving a variety of state and local stakeholders. Localities take the lead role in identifying the needs of their communities and DEQ provides technical analysis and oversight. 

DEQ Drought Dashboard Now Live - May 22, 2026

DEQ has developed a new, easy to use, and interactive Drought Dashboard for viewing data used by the Drought Monitoring Task Force to track drought conditions across the Commonwealth. For more information, please see the Drought webpage. 

Water Supply Planning & Water Withdrawal Permitting

For surface water withdrawals from nontidal waters that have applied for a Virginia Water Protection permit, surface water modelers within DEQ’s Water Supply Planning & Analysis program conduct a Technical Evaluation (TE) to ensure that the proposed water withdrawal activities can realistically achieve the requested demand amount, while minimizing or eliminating impacts to other beneficial uses. To do so, a model is created that includes all direct withdrawals (permitted and non-permitted) of water both upstream and downstream of the proposed demand. The model simulates operational restrictions and allowances for all existing permitted intakes that are relevant to the waterbody, and accounts for point source return flows that are associated with all withdrawals in the watershed. The resulting TE provides summary data demonstrating the location, frequency, timing, and duration of any consumptive use impacts, indicates the frequency, duration, and magnitude of potential conservation reductions needed, and proposes alternatives that can reduce cumulative impacts identified. The resulting TE is provided to the associated permit writer and is used to develop permit conditions to ensure the protection of beneficial uses as defined in § 62.1-44.3 of the Code of Virginia. 

For surface water withdrawals that have applied for a Virginia Water Protection permit or groundwater withdrawals within a designated Groundwater Management Area that have applied for a Groundwater Withdrawal Permit, water supply planners within DEQ’s Water Supply Planning & Analysis program review application materials and provide relevant information from existing water supply plans to the associated permit writer. Existing water supply plans are focused on short- and long-term water supply planning at the locality or regional level and include a determination of whether existing water supplies were projected to meet water demands during the planning period. Information pulled from existing water supply plans is typically focused on local and regional context, projected water demands, and the statement of need and alternatives analysis as they relate to the specific facility and/or the associated locality. 

Water Supply Planning Guidance - Effective Nov. 8, 2025

The Local and Regional Water Supply Planning Regulation Guidance became effective on November 8, 2025. For more information, please see the Water Supply Planning Resources webpage. 

Water Supply Planning Regulation Amendments Approved - Effective Oct. 9, 2024

Amendments to the Local and Regional Water Supply Planning Regulation (9VAC25-780) became effective on October 9, 2024. For more information, please see the Water Supply Planning Resources webpage. 

VAHydro to myDEQ Portal Migration - Effective April 1, 2024

Effective April 1, 2024, the VAHydro database was replaced by the myDEQ Portal. Please see the Water Withdrawal Reporting webpage for more information.