THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Saturday, December 31, 1994            TAG: 9412310311
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY KAREN WEINTRAUB, STAFF WRITER 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   48 lines

$291,000 FLOWS FROM NORFOLK TO VIRGINIA BEACH IN ERROR, THE BEACH HAD BEEN CHARGED TOO MUCH FOR WATER.

The paths of water and money are usually quite clear in South Hampton Roads: Water flows from Norfolk to Virginia Beach and money flows from the Beach to Norfolk.

But because of several slow-moving meters, one of those paths was reversed recently. Norfolk mailed a $291,000 check to Virginia Beach.

Virginia Beach buys about 32 million gallons of water a day from Norfolk - almost 2 million more than allowed under contract between the two cities. The Beach has to pay a penalty for the extra water, but this year it paid too much.

Louis L. Guy, director of utilities for Norfolk, said the problem was caught by a routine meter check required under the contract.

``It was a surprise to find out we had overbilled Virginia Beach,'' Guy said, ``but a good part of the reason was that we had underbilled the Navy.''

Water is metered as it crosses the city limits into Virginia Beach, Guy explained, but the water used at the Beach's Naval facilities is subtracted from that total and billed seperately to the federal government. The meters that measure water-use at the bases weren't working quite right, he said, causing Norfolk to underestimate the Navy's consumption.

Virginia Beach's water-use works out to about 80 gallons per person per day, said Clarence O. Warnstaff, director of public utilities for Virginia Beach. That compares favorably to other U.S. cities. In Atlanta, consumption reaches about 155 gallons a day; in Denver, the figure is 220 gallons a day; and in Las Vegas, the totals top 300 gallons per person per day, he said.

Use is down this fiscal year, which runs from June to July, Guy said, meaning Virginia Beach will probably owe less in penalties to Norfolk this year. Last year, the Beach paid Norfolk a little less than $1.5 million - and then got the refund from that amount. Guy credited increased rainfall for that drop.

``Maybe when there's more rain, you don't get as hot and sticky and don't take as many showers,'' he said. ``I think the hotter it is, the more water people use.''

KEYWORDS: NORFOLK WATER DEPARTMENT VIRGINIA BEACH WATER DEPARTMENT

NORFOLK DEPARTMENT OF UTILITIES by CNB