DATE: Wednesday, November 19, 1997          TAG: 9711190484

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JOHN MURPHY, STAFF WRITER

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   79 lines

BEACH LIFTS RESTRICTIONS ON WATER MOST HOOKUPS ARE STILL ON HOLD UNTIL SYSTEM REACHES FULL CAPACITY

Wash your car. Say hello to your garden hose. No need to make a special request for a glass of water when you go out to eat.

It's official: this thirsty city is off water restrictions.

The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to ease the bulk of its water restrictions, ending nearly six years of inconveniences caused by the water shortage.

``You can go home and water your lawn and wash your car. I don't know about you, but I'm glad,'' said a jovial Vice Mayor William D. Sessoms Jr.

Tuesday's vote came with little fanfare or ceremony. Just seven council members attended the meeting. The other four members, including Mayor Meyera E. Oberndorf, had other commitments or were out of town.

The decision follows the dedication of the 76-mile Lake Gaston pipeline Nov. 7.

``This is the first step in showing the public what the real benefits of the pipeline are,'' said Councilman Louis R. Jones.

The council stopped short Tuesday of lifting the moratorium on water hookups for new developments. Homes that have depended on wells, however, will be allowed to use the city water system.

The remaining restrictions could stay in place until 1999, when Virginia Beach will have access to all 45 million gallons a day the pipeline can deliver to the city.

Chesapeake is entitled to up to 10 million gallons per day of Lake Gaston water. Suffolk has an option to tap as much as 2 million gallons per day.

At the moment, 36 million gallons per day are reaching Virginia Beach faucets. That amount will not increase until Norfolk completes an expansion of a water treatment plant and can complete work on its pumping station in Suffolk. Both projects will be finished in about two years.

Virginia Beach's current water usage is 32 million gallons per day. With the restrictions lifted, water use should increase about 10 percent - or 3 million gallons - per day, city officials predicted.

``It won't happen overnight,'' said Clarence O. Warnstaff, Virginia Beach director of public utilities. ``But water use will build as we get into the spring and summer months.''

Another one million gallons of water per day could be tapped by 3,900 existing homes and lots that have been unable to connect to the city's water system because of the restrictions.

About 2,900 lots in new developments - such as Christopher Farms, Highgate Greens and Hillcrest Farms - would be eligible for city water.

Water will also be made available to 1,000 homes in older neighborhoods that the city has tied to the water system.

Today, the city will begin making the first hookups to homes like those in the Newcastle subdivision.

The properties being connected to city water for the first time had been forced to use well water.

All totaled, the eased restrictions, combined with the city's current water demand, will increase the city's water usage to 36 million gallons per day, officials said.

If a summer drought occurs, city leaders said they may be forced to reimpose some of the restrictions. City officials predict there is a 20 percent chance of a severe drought.

Likewise, if water supplies are plentiful, the city could decide to lift the final restrictions on new development as early as next year, Warnstaff said.

The water emergency ordinance was approved in 1992. Only one homeowner was cited for violating the ordinance, city officials said.

``The citizens reacted so well to the call, there was no need for the strong-arm enforcement,'' Warnstaff said.

City officials said they hope residents don't forget the water-saving tips - such as turning off the water while brushing teeth and only running a full dishwasher. Such practices helped the city earn the reputation as one of the top water conservers in the nation, officials said. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

In 1999, Virginia Beach will have access to all 45 million gallons a

day.

Color staff illustration

For complete copy, see microfilm KEYWORDS: WATER RESTRICTIONS VIRGINIA BEACH

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