Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, May 3, 1993 TAG: 9305030282
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
This common-law doctrine leads to bitter water fights in Virginia. To prevent the escalation of "us vs. them" fights between water-rich and water-poor areas, the General Assembly must develop a comprehensive and rational policy to govern water resources, water distribution and interbasin transfers of water.
Unlike many Western states, Virginia has traditionally taken plentiful water for granted. Turn on the faucet and it flowed. But water no longer always flows where it's needed in Virginia.
Mostly because of uneven population growth and development, there already exist areas in the state - generally in the east - that suffer chronic water shortages. The number of these have-not jurisdictions seems likely to grow. Meanwhile, other areas - generally to the west - have water in abundance.
Today, rural communities in Southside Virginia vehemently oppose a Virginia Beach plan to use a pipeline to tap water from Lake Gaston, on the Roanoke River along the North Carolina line.
Henrico County is threatening to sue the city of Richmond over rights to build a new water plant that would draw from the James River.
Newport News is thirsting after water in the Mattaponi River in King William County.
Throughout the state, the divining rods are out across jurisdictional borders - looking for needed water. So are the knives.
The issues involved in the endless water wars among Virginia localities are complex. But the resolution in each case can have major economic and environmental consequences for the entire state.
Regrettably, state legislators have ducked their responsibility to ensure equitable settlement of these disputes. Their reaction, when cities and counties have gotten into such fights, has largely been: "We'll hold your coats."
That's not good enough.
In theory, the need for a more comprehensive water policy has been recognized by the legislature since at least 1966. There are numerous references to state water "policy" splattered about in the Virginia Code, and in the regulations of various agencies that have a say-so over water matters.
But read together, these amount to mud. Making matters worse, the legislature has left it to individual courts to interpret the hodgepodge of water laws it has passed, usually on an ad hoc basis, and to apply the riparian-rights doctrine as each court sees fit.
This does not add up to proper, balanced management of a finite resource that is vital to life, environmental quality and economic growth.
Perhaps it's too much to expect that a comprehensive policy can eliminate all the water problems that now pit locality against locality - and sometimes citizen against citizen. But the assembly can provide much stronger guidance and leadership than it does now.
When it comes to movement of water from area to area, the assembly can develop a policy that is fair to both "exporters" and "importers." It can develop a policy that may well head off a major water crisis in the state. Surely, Virginians would drink to that.
by CNB