DATE: Thursday, October 16, 1997            TAG: 9710160565

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B13  EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY KATRICE FRANKLIN AND KAREN WEINTRAUB, STAFF WRITERS 

DATELINE: SUFFOLK                           LENGTH:   57 lines

SUFFOLK MAKES REGIONAL PEACE IN LONG WATER WAR

The region's cities have once again declared a truce in their decades-old war over water.

The Suffolk City Council voted unanimously Wednesday night to accept the terms of a settlement offered by Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Chesapeake, and to get out of the way of the completion of the Lake Gaston pipeline project.

The agreement removes the only remaining local barrier to the completion of the 76-mile pipeline that is already pumping millions of gallons of water into South Hampton Roads.

The compromise, worked out over the last several months, protects all four cities' water resources and provides Suffolk with more than $4 million in cash.

``I think we have peace among ourselves on Gaston water now, and that's great,'' Virginia Beach outside legal counsel M. Scott Hart said Wednesday night.

Under the agreement, Suffolk will permit Norfolk to expand its pumping station in Suffolk to carry Lake Gaston water to Virginia Beach and Chesapeake. The three larger cities had filed suit against Suffolk in March, when Suffolk said it would only allow the pumping station expansion if Norfolk agreed to limit its use of groundwater in Suffolk.

Suffolk officials said they imposed the restrictions to ensure that there was adequate groundwater for its citizens. They are satisfied, they said, that the deal approved Wednesday provides that guarantee.

``The protection of our groundwater resources has been and will be a priority,'' said City Manager Myles E. Standish. ``It's a very rare and valuable resource. . . that is in short supply in southeastern Virginia.''

Suffolk plans to use the money the deal provides to expand its water and sewer systems, officials said.

``This is a step in the right direction of South Hampton Roads jurisdictions working cooperatively to manage this scarce resource,'' Edward Roettger, Suffolk's city attorney, said.

According to the 20-page deal, Norfolk will have continued access to its four deep-water wells in Suffolk during droughts and other emergencies - the only time Norfolk planned to use them. Norfolk also agreed in writing not to drill additional wells in Suffolk.

Virginia Beach agreed to pay Suffolk $3 million to drop its concerns over the wells. In return, Hart said, Virginia Beach gets to avoid costly and timely litigation over a project that has already taken 15 years to build and is still being contested by North Carolina and residents of the Roanoke River Basin. Both are expected to file an appeal in the U.S. Supreme Court next month.

Chesapeake agreed to pay Suffolk $1.15 million and to let Suffolk use a pipe it plans to build connecting Norfolk's water system with Portsmouth's.

And both cities agreed to let Suffolk become a partner in the Lake Gaston pipeline, taking as much as 2 million gallons of water per day. Suffolk has five years to exercise its option on that water, according to the deal.

Virginia Beach plans to take as much as 48 million gallons of water per day from Lake Gaston. Chesapeake can withdraw up to 10 million gallons of water per day.

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