THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 27, 1996 TAG: 9610270327
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TERRI WILLIAMS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 131 lines
On the surface, it seems a minor squabble over what should be a simple permit giving Norfolk permission to move and expand a pumping station on a lake it owns in Suffolk.
But when the Suffolk City Council delayed action on that permit Oct. 16, ostensibly to resolve some environmental questions, it reflected much deeper divisions that have spilled across local borders for generations.
Once again, water and control over who gets it is the focus of a high-stakes game with critical implications to citizens of the entire region.
Andrew B. Damiani - who served as a Suffolk councilman and mayor in the early 1980s - said that water has long been a token of power in this region.
``We've been in a battle with them for a long time,'' Damiani said of Suffolk's relationship with Norfolk and Virginia Beach. ``Regional cooperation works when everyone benefits. The `haves' feel they have the cards to play. The `have nots' don't. To control a city's destiny, you have to control the water. It becomes a game.''
The cities of Suffolk and Norfolk have been talking off and on for nearly 15 years about water. Suffolk has several large reservoirs, but they are owned by Norfolk and Portsmouth and used as parts of those cities' water supplies.
Suffolk would like to purchase some of the surplus Norfolk will have once Virginia Beach turns to Lake Gaston and no longer has to buy at least 30 million gallons a day from Norfolk.
``Norfolk has made it plain in many settings that water would be available and there's plenty to go around,'' said Norfolk Utility Director Louis L. Guy. ``We'd love to sell it to Suffolk.''
The hangup, according to some close to the negotiations, is the price. But Suffolk holds a huge trump card: the permit Norfolk desperately needs.
Norfolk has to move its Western Branch Reservoir Pumping Station 500 feet out of a flood plain. The pumping station must also be expanded as part of the Lake Gaston pipeline project to handle an extra 60 million gallons a day.
At the last City Council meeting, Suffolk delayed action for 60 days to study the matter. Many officials explained that it was to give time to address environmental concerns.
Officials close to discussions declined to speak on the record about the negotiations.
But some Norfolk officials privately believe that Suffolk is delaying the permit to get a better deal on that surplus water. The postponement came as a shock to Norfolk.
The Suffolk Planning Commission unanimously approved the project in its September meeting, and Guy said later questions by Suffolk City Council were minimal: whether the reservoir would be expanded and whether there would be additional noise. Guy said neither would happen.
But the dispute involves more than money. It also turns on matters of trust, both among the various localities and in the fact that the Lake Gaston pipeline will ultimately be approved.
Virginia Beach and Chesapeake have already gambled $75 million on the pipeline.
Suffolk did not enter the project, and officials are concerned that their citizens might suffer if the rest of the region has to scramble to come up with water it had expected to draw from Gaston.
There is only so much water in the region, and without Lake Gaston to augment it, area cities may have to turn more heavily to wells to meet the demands of growing population. Norfolk's wells in Suffolk would draw from the same aquifer that Suffolk residents already use, and Suffolk officials worry that their resources will be threatened to keep up with Virginia Beach and Chesapeake's needs.
Virginia Beach now buys all of its water from Norfolk, but would rely on Gaston water if it comes on line. Chesapeake currently serves about half its population with water drawn from the Northwest River. The rest get water the city buys from Norfolk or Portsmouth. Chesapeake also is counting on Lake Gaston to handle future needs.
Virginia Beach and Chesapeake are in litigation over whether they have permission to operate the pipeline, which is about half built. On Thursday, the federal Environmental Protection Agency sent a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission saying it agreed with pipeline opponents that the Clean Water Act gives North Carolina veto power over the project.
The uncertainty has Suffolk carefully assessing its options, said City Manager Myles E. Standish.
Not only is the city analyzing Norfolk's permit request, but it is also exploring its own needs should the Gaston project be blocked. It is looking for ways to be water independent and still cope with the growth everyone is predicting for the city. Talks also are ongoing between Suffolk and Isle of Wight County to create a regional water authority.
The city staff is trying to find a way to provide for Suffolk's needs while still serving the region, Standish said.
Standish says Suffolk's water supply is fine now. Currently Suffolk gets its public water from the G. Robert House Water Treatment plant in Chuckatuck, which has two wells, as well as several community wells in six area neighborhoods. There are also a number of private wells. But the manager said he's planning ahead for when resources can become scarce.
Suffolk officials said the city can tap additional water from two areas. One is the Reids Ferry well near the Western Branch Reservoir. Officials said they could also drill a well off College Drive near Harbourview, a booming development area in northern Suffolk.
``Council's task to me is to strategically plan for the future,'' Standish said. ``Where does Suffolk want to be and how can it achieve it over the next decade? That is my priority.''
City Councilman and former Mayor S. Chris Jones said that means being prudent.
``I'm looking at it from the standpoint of a businessman,'' said Jones, who owns a drugstore. ``We're looking at the costs of those options, and we want to make sure our long-term water resources aren't adversely impacted when Lake Gaston comes in.''
However, Norfolk utility director Guy said that Norfolk and Suffolk drew up an agreement two years ago that gives Suffolk some control over how Norfolk uses its Suffolk wells. Guy said Norfolk wouldn't rely on the wells unless the reservoir levels were low.
Water disputes between Suffolk and Norfolk are nothing new.
Hostilities reached a boiling point during one of Virginia's severest droughts in the fall of 1980. Norfolk owned a number of wells in Suffolk and wanted to replace the older ones in order to draw more water.
But Suffolk, using its zoning laws, blocked efforts by Norfolk to repair the pumps. A flurry of litigation ensued. Eventually, Gov. John N. Dalton intervened and the feuding cities signed a water agreement that allowed Norfolk to improve its facilities in Suffolk.
Standish said he's concentrating on Suffolk's future, not the past.
``I'm not interested in the history of what did or did not happen,'' Standish said. ``I'm really interested in where we are going.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
WHAT HAPPENED THIS MONTH
Suffolk delayed voting on a permit that Norfolk needs to move and
expand a pumping station that would be used to process Lake Gaston
water.
THE LARGER ISSUE
Norfolk officials say Suffolk is using the pumping station as a
bargaining chip in negotiations to buy water from Norfolk if the
pipeline goes through.
A PRECIOUS COMMODITY
The development is part of a years-long struggle among all Hampton
Roads cities over water - and control of who gets it.
KEYWORDS: LAKE GASTON PIPELINE WATER SUPPLY
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