Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, July 18, 1995                   TAG: 9507180057
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: RAY REED
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

SEA WOULD MAKE GREAT MARGARITAS

J.T., Roanoke

A: The ocean is too salty for Virginia Beach. If it were possible to use local water, the city already would have built the nation's largest desalting plant instead of trying to put a pipeline to Lake Gaston.

Desalting ocean water would cost $6 per 1,000 gallons in the quantity needed from the pipeline. Treating Lake Gaston water would cost $2 per 1,000 gallons.

Virginia Beach residents already have the second-highest water bill in the nation. The cost of sea water made fit for drinking would equal the monthly electric bill, said Tom Leahy of the city's Water Resources Department.

Despite the image of a resort city, Virginia Beach residents' income is, on average, about the same as the rest of us Virginians - partly because it's also a military city.

By the way, the Wrightsville Beach desalting plant was a government-funded research project that's now out of business. It never used sea water; it treated brackish ground water that cost much less to purify because it held only 5 percent of the salt that's in ocean water. (Virginia Beach ground water is saltier than the ocean.)

Right now, Dare County, N.C., uses desalted water from Albemarle Sound to quench the thirst of Outer Banks vacationers. This process, too, carries a reasonable cost because the sound holds a brackish mix of fresh and sea water.

D.C. meal plan

Q: The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives both have dining rooms. How much of that food cost is subsidized? I've called several elected officials there, but haven't really got an answer.

J.T., Roanoke

A: Not to make excuses for politicians, but Washington bookkeeping is known for leaving no trails.

Rep. Bob Goodlatte's office asked several committees and finally got this answer from the Congressional Research Service: The Senate restaurant system receives approximately $1 million a year from the taxpayers. The dining room and the little carryout shops all are part of that system.

The House restaurant system is much clearer. It's private-sector business now. The Marriott Corp. took it over in July 1994. Prices went up, and there's no taxpayer subsidy.

Before 1994, the House dining plan was much like the Senate's. But pinning down the figures was a task that even Money magazine decided was pointless.|

Got a question about something that might affect other people, too? Something you've come across and wondered about? Give us a call at 981-3118. Maybe we can find the answer.