DATE: Thursday, August 28, 1997             TAG: 9708270015

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B12  EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Editorial 

                                            LENGTH:   55 lines

LAKE GASTON PIPELINE FINALLY, MORE WATER

Freshwater from Lake Gaston destined for Virginia Beach flowed last week into the Nottoway River toward Norfolk's Lake Prince reservoir in Suffolk. That was cause for jubilation throughout South Hampton Roads. No longer will South Hampton Roads be without access to the water it needs.

Virginia Beach set out 15 years ago to gain water for Gaston. On a fast track to becoming the most populous city in Virginia, the Beach had grown up quenching its thirst with water purchased from Norfolk.

But Norfolk's water supply dropped to troubling lows during prolonged droughts. Access to an expanded water supply was deemed essential. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers identified Lake Gaston as the best additional freshwater source.

But Lake Gaston straddles the Virginia-North Carolina line, with most of the lake being in North Carolina. Overcoming political and environmental obstacles to the Beach's quest for water would take years - nobody could know how many.

The Beach quickly found itself in an uphill battle with North Carolina and Roanoke River Basin communities in Virginia over tapping the lake. The long campaign is not yet over. North Carolina is still pressing its cause in the judicial and political arenas.

When a three-judge panel of the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled for the Beach last spring, North Carolina sought hearing by the full court. The full court has rejected North Carolina's petition. The state now intends to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. As Yogi Berra said of baseball games, ``It ain't over till it's over.''

Meanwhile, there is skirmishing over Suffolk's refusal to permit Norfolk to make pumping-system improvements necessary to speed Gaston water to the Beach. Together with Chesapeake (which also will share Gaston water) and Norfolk, the Beach is in court to force Suffolk to grant the pumping-system permits. The dispute is being mediated.

But the most important fact now is that the Gaston pipeline is in place and functioning. Virginia Beach has forged the physical link between Lake Gaston's abundance and South Hampton Roads. That rules out any possibility that a succession of drought years in Southeastern Virginia could cripple the region's economy.

Yes, a study commissioned by Norfolk says that more water could be safely coaxed from the city's resources. But federal authorities who authorized Virginia Beach to proceed with the pipeline project understood years ago that more water could be wrung from Norfolk's assets. More important, the feds recognized that population and commerce could explode within the region.

The Gaston project has always been more about the future than the present, although the Beach felt compelled to impose stern water-conservation measures five years ago.

With physical access to Lake Gaston comes insurance against the likelihood that South Hampton Roads could be left high and dry in the 21st century. That's no small achievement.

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