DATE: Tuesday, August 26, 1997              TAG: 9708260365

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY KATRICE FRANKLIN and TERRI WILLIAMS 

        STAFF WRITERS 

                                            LENGTH:   63 lines

PORTSMOUTH WATER COULD QUENCH THIRST OF SUFFOLK

Suffolk would get 2 million gallons of water a day from Portsmouth - enough for the next 10 years and for large-scale development - in a plan to be voted on Wednesday by both city councils.

The proposed agreement also would give Suffolk the option to buy more water from Portsmouth each time the neighboring city increases its water supply. Suffolk would foot half the expansion cost.

The proposal would increase by more than 55 percent Suffolk's water supply of 3.5 million gallons per day. That could mean enough water for a couple of good-sized shopping malls and other commercial developments - something the city wouldn't be able to support without increasing its water supply, city officials say.

Portsmouth City Manager Ronald W. Massie, meeting in a retreat with his City Council in Williamsburg, confirmed the proposed plan Monday night.

``I see this as a stepping stone to bigger and better things between Suffolk and Portsmouth,'' he said. ``I am very pleased about it.

``We have a little water to spare. All the elements are positive.''

Three members of the Suffolk City Council said they view the plan as the first of several possible cooperative projects.

Massie and Suffolk City Manager Myles E. Standish have discussed several possibilities, which insiders say include joint development of land bordering both cities and improvement of a Portsmouth-owned golf course in Suffolk.

``It's a tremendous boost to Suffolk's water supply,'' said Suffolk Councilman Curtis R. Milteer.

Suffolk also learned last week that it could get 1 million gallons of water per day from the Lake Gaston pipeline, which could provide a total 60 million gallons of water per day to South Hampton Roads localities.

The city of Franklin said it could not afford to buy the water that had been set aside for its residents, but Suffolk officials have not decided whether to buy Franklin's share.

Since the early 1980s, Suffolk has been buying half a million gallons of water a day from Portsmouth.

The cost for the additional water would be about $2 per 1,000 gallons. If Portsmouth increased its rate to its customers, Suffolk's rate would go up as well.

Suffolk's charge to its water customers increased in July from $2.98 per 1,000 gallons to $2.89.

``We probably won't have to go up on our water rates,'' said Suffolk council member Marian ``Bea'' Rogers.

With developers seeking to build subdivisions and with the city pushing industrial and economic development, Suffolk officials know its current water supply won't be enough for long.

``This will go a long way to address our needs,'' said Suffolk council member S. Chris Jones.

Suffolk reservoirs have for decades been used to supply water for other South Hampton Roads cities, including Norfolk and Portsmouth.

Suffolk gets its public water from the G. Robert House Water Treatment plant in Chuckatuck, which has two wells, from several community wells in six area neighborhoods, from a number of private wells and a half a million gallons each day from Portsmouth.

Milteer said the agreement is proof that the two cities must work together to succeed.

``We must be able to give and take in order to become partners in the region,'' Milteer said.

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu