THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 21, 1996 TAG: 9603210001
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines
Virginia Beach began construction of the Lake Gaston Pipeline last week, edging closer to solving the water crisis which has plagued the city for two decades.
But, as staff writer Karen Weintraub reported, there were no dignitaries, shiny shovels or television crews when digging commenced near the Nottoway River in Southampton County. In fact, every effort was made not to draw attention to the feat.
It was an auspicious event nonetheless.
Work on the Gaston Pipeline is testimony to the dogged determination of city officials who found what they considered to be the perfect solution to their freshwater shortage back in 1975 - pumping up to 60 million gallons of freshwater a day from Lake Gaston through a pipeline to the Beach.
Yet every time it seemed the city was ready to get out the shovels another roadblock was put in its way. In fact, ground was broken in 1990, but construction halted soon after when North Carolina obtained an injunction blocking the pipeline. It took five more years for Virginia Beach to get a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission permit which allowed it to go back to work last week.
Undeterred by federal regulations, lengthy studies and naysayers in North Carolina and the Roanoke River basin, the city fought the Gaston battle in courts and in the legislature.
Now it seems likely that in two years water will be running between Lake Gaston, on the North Carolina/Virginia border, and Virginia Beach. Chesapeake, Franklin and Isle of Wight also will get water from the pipeline.
Yet a few battles remain: A case is still pending in federal appeals court and a suit has been filed by the Roanoke River Basin Association, an organization of business, political and civic leaders who oppose the pipeline. And North Carolina Sens. Jesse Helms and Lauch Faircloth are threatening to try to force Virginia Beach to honor an agreement made last year but never finalized.
The Lake Gaston Pipeline had its genesis in 1975 when the Southeastern Water Authority of Virginia presented a regional study recommending the link as the answer to the fast-growing city's expanding demand for water. In late 1982, Virginia Beach City Council voted to build the pipeline.
Despite elections and changes in its membership, City Council has remained resolute about the need for the pipeline during the past 13 years, even when the odds of building it seemed long.
Council should be commended for its untiring efforts. We hope to sip a glass of Lake Gaston water in the spring of 1998 after offering a proper toast. by CNB