Virginia local governments will now have to plan for water supply regionally - Virginia MercuryVirginia’s State Water Control Board amended re...
Published on by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network
Virginia’s State Water Control Board amended regulations last week that will require local governments in the same river basin to work together in crafting plans for water supply and use.
Previously, the state allowed local governments to choose whether they wanted to submit such plans independently or work with other localities in a regional approach. Plans must include existing water sources, water use and environmental conditions, any actions being taken to manage water supply and drought response plans, among other information.
“These are true regional planning areas based upon river basin, common water supply sources or existing or planned water supply, cross-jurisdictional relationships,” said Weeden Cloe, manager of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality’s Office of Water Supply at the State Water Control Board’s Nov. 30 meeting.
The changes to how Virginia handles water supply planning are a result of 2020 legislation from Del. Betsy Carr, D-Richmond. That law followed an earlier report by the Joint Legislative Audit Review Commission that found that “without regional planning, localities may miss opportunities to collaborate on high-cost water supply projects, and some localities may have greater access to water than others.”
A multiyear drought from 1999 to 2002 led to Virginia first requiring local water supply planning. In August 2002, DEQ stated that almost 100% of the state was experiencing “abnormally dry conditions,” with 28% experiencing “exceptional drought.”
The original rules allowing local governments to choose between a solo or group approach to planning led to the submission of 48 water plans, of which 10 were local and 38 regional, mostly consisting of one county and one or more city or town within the boundaries of the county.
SOURCE: https://www.virginiamercury.com/2023/12/06/virginia-local-governments-will-now-have-to-plan-for-water-supply-regionally/
Taxonomy
- Water Supply
- Water Supply
- Water Supply Commission
- Water Supply Design
- Water Supply Regulation