THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, September 12, 1995 TAG: 9509120253
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TONY WHARTON AND TONI WHITT, STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
The continuing drought is beginning to threaten the city's water supply, officials said Monday, and they urged residents to use water responsibly to avoid the need for restrictions.
``People need to start paying attention to this now,'' said James R. Spacek, Portsmouth's director of public utilities. ``We're asking people to start using the resource wisely.''
``Are we going to any restrictions now? No.''
Across the region, wary water officials are keeping one eye on the skies and another on their reservoir levels.
Norfolk - the area's largest water supplier - reported that its reservoirs are still above 70 percent of capacity, said Utilities Director Louis Guy.
``At the moment we have no intention of calling for any unusual measures,'' Guy said.
Last week Suffolk asked Gov. George F. Allen to declare a water emergency for western Tidewater cities and counties. As of Monday afternoon, Allen had not acted on the request.
On Friday, Allen ordered the Virginia National Guard to go on standby in case it is needed to handle water supplies for hard-hit areas of the state.
He also ordered the State Drought Task Force to meet this week and evaluate the situation across the commonwealth.
Portsmouth expressed the most concern Monday. Its reservoirs are at 68 percent of ``useful capacity,'' a measure of what the city can withdraw. At the same point during the worst drought on record, in 1980-81, the reservoirs were at 59.2 percent, Spacek said.
Rainfall at Portsmouth's lakes, which are located in Suffolk, is 10.59 inches below normal for the year, and the National Weather Service is predicting below-normal rainfall through mid-October, unless a tropical storm comes through, Spacek said.
October and November are normally dry anyway, Spacek said. The reservoirs generally refill in December and January.
``We're normally at 100 percent Jan. 1,'' Spacek said. ``If you go in low and don't recover, that does not bode well for next spring and summer when the pumpage does pick up. Certainly we can get through the winter; the real concern is what happens to you next spring and summer.''
The drought already has triggered several other measures locally. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers last week closed the boat locks on the Dismal Swamp Canal, effectively eliminating an alternate route along the Intracoastal Waterway.
The city of Chesapeake, which draws much of its water from the Northwest River, began tapping underground reserves July 23 after river water became brackish from a lack of rainfall and persistent winds off the Currituck Sound.
The lakes in Suffolk that South Hampton Roads uses for much of its water supply have been dropping steadily.
By late August, Lake Cohoon, Lake Prince, and Lake Burnt Mills were all down more than four feet, according to operators of fishing stations on the reservoirs.
And gardeners have been advised to change the way they get their lawns ready for the winter.
``We've been telling people to hold off reseeding for a little while,'' said Dave Partin, a nurseryman at White's Old Mill Garden Center in Chesapeake.
``Normally you would plant fescue in August. We've been advising them to wait and see if the drought ends.'' MEMO: Staff writers Karen Weintraub and Mac Daniel contributed to this
report.
by CNB