Virginia’s State Water Resources Plan Out for Public Comment Through May 8, 2015

The State Water Resources Plan is now out for comment. Much of the plan is focused on stream resources and these are not of great concern to the Eastern Shore since our water comes from groundwater of the Sole Source Aquifer. The Eastern Shore of Virginia Groundwater Committee will consider the matter at the April 21 meeting at the A-NPDC offices at 10am. Many of the issues the state found are focused in the exurban counties outside the DC metropolitan area, which is also unregulated by the Department of Environmental Quality unlike the Tidewater and Eastern Shore. The public notice is copied below.

PUBLIC NOTICE: ISSUE DATE: APRIL 6, 2015

DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY-WATER DIVISION, P. O. Box 1105, Richmond, Virginia 23218
Telephone: (804) 698-4000

STATE WATER RESOURCES REPORT AS REQUIRED BY SECTION 62.1-44.38 OF THE CODE OF VIRGINIA AS AMENDED.

The draft Virginia Water Resources Plan, the Commonwealth’s first comprehensive effort to incorporate information from locally developed water supply plans, is available for public review and comment. The Plan is a compilation of the information from local plans and includes an analysis of how future water demand may affect key water uses. Among the main components of the plan are an extensive look at surface water and groundwater sources, and an assessment of the capacity of these sources to meet the projected demand to 2040. The plan outlines water supply challenges in Virginia and identifies recommendations to address these challenges. Recommendations include:

• Development of rules for surface water withdrawals and impoundment releases that are currently excluded from Virginia Water Protection permitting requirements.
• Expansion of groundwater monitoring wells in localities outside the eastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area to improve understanding of the groundwater resource and how pumping affects the aquifer.
• Increased emphasis on conservation efforts by localities to reduce demand.
  PROCEDURES FOR SUBMITTING COMMENTS

Persons may comment in writing to the DEQ on the draft Plan until May 8, 2015. The plan is available on the DEQ website at www.deq.virginia.gov.