DATE: Thursday, November 6, 1997            TAG: 9711060488
SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY KATRICE FRANKLIN, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: SUFFOLK                           LENGTH:   54 lines

SUFFOLK VOTES TO FORM AREA WATER AUTHORITY IN A MEETING TODAY, ISLE OF WIGHT MAY DISCUSS TEAMING WITH ITS NEIGHBOR.

The Suffolk City Council voted unanimously Wednesday night to form a regional water authority with neighboring Isle of Wight - the city's latest effort to end decades of fighting and worrying over this region's most prized possession.

Isle of Wight's Board of Supervisors is expected to discuss the authority in a closed session meeting today and a vote on the matter could occur later, county officials said late Wednesday.

Officials from both localities said the authority would help Suffolk become more water-independent as it struggles to meet the infrastructure needs of its growing population. It would also allow Isle of Wight to exercise its option to buy 1 million gallons per day of Lake Gaston water from Virginia Beach.

Although Isle of Wight could purchase the water, it has no means of treating it. The agreement with Suffolk would allow Isle of Wight to receive treated Gaston water from Suffolk.

``In the long term, we have no major water source,'' Phillip Bradshaw, a member of the Isle of Wight Board of Supervisors, said. ``The city of Suffolk has some.''

While the terms have not been drawn up for the authority, officials said there have been discussions that the agreement could include sharing water resources and would be open to other South Hampton Roads cities.

Reached Wednesday night, officials from Norfolk and Virginia Beach declined to discuss the authority or whether their cities might be interested in participating in such an entity.

But Suffolk City Manager Myles E. Standish said the authority could have broad implications.

``We are truly trying to prepare for the next several decades,'' Standish said. ``This will help us marshal as much water as we can. Two communities can do things that one community can't.''

Councilwoman Marian ``Bea'' Rogers said the authority shows Suffolk's willingness to participate in regional cooperation efforts.

``We're leading the way,'' Rogers said.

In the past three months, Suffolk has worked to increase its once quickly shrinking water supply by participating in several water agreements with nearby communities. In September, Portsmouth agreed to allow Suffolk to purchase additional water from its unused resources.

And last month, Suffolk settled a seven-month dispute with Virginia Beach, Chesapeake and Norfolk over the Lake Gaston pipeline project. The agreement, which was days away from being heard in court, allowed Norfolk to expand its pumping station in Suffolk to transport the Gaston water to Virginia Beach. It also gave Suffolk close to $4 million and the chance to purchase Gaston water.

Suffolk Councilman Curtis R. Milteer said the authority should prepare Suffolk for anything that may come.

``We won't have to depend on any other jurisdiction in order to handle our growth.''

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