RD99 - Annual Report of the State Water Commission


Executive Summary:
In 2003, upon the recommendation of the State Water Commission, legislation was enacted that required localities to develop water supply plans that were then to be incorporated into a statewide water resources plan. Since the passage of this law, the Commission has received periodic updates on the progress of the development and implementation of these plans. In 2006, the Commission received a briefing from the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) on the water supply initiative and testimony from local officials on their efforts to develop local water supply plans.

Mr. David Paylor, Director of DEQ, stated that the development of local water supply plans will improve our understanding of (i) water supply needs over the next 30 or more years, and (ii) the availability of groundwater, and characterize the level of stream flows, which are necessary to support living resources and other uses. The goal of this planning effort is to create a water planning partnership among state, local, and regional governments, and public and private interests.

The local officials who testified before the Commission represented both urban and rural localities throughout the Commonwealth, including the Hampton Roads District Commission, Fairfax County, the Town of Amherst, and the Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission. They all commented on the difficulty of the task facing their localities but were appreciative of the technical assistance and the $800,000 in grant funds provided by DEQ. This is especially the case with respect to the smaller localities that neither have the financial resources nor staff to develop a comprehensive water supply plan. All the speakers suggested that for a plan to be effective it must be regional in nature. Acknowledgement of this has resulted in the widespread development of regional water supply plans rather than individual plans for each county or city.