Virginia Law

The State Water Control Board finds that the Virginia water resource policy must be based upon the following broad precepts of natural and man-made law and must recognize natural conditions and the distribution and growth of Virginia's population and industry:

1. Virginia's hydrographic conditions are diverse, ranging from "mountain streams" to open ocean;

2. Natural salinity varies from near zero to that of the open ocean;

3. Natural rainfall in Virginia is such that total fresh water production far exceeds any foreseeable needs; however, accidents of times and geography may produce short-term or geographic surpluses (flood) or deficits (drought);

4. Flood plains are the natural relief mechanism for surface streams;

5. Virginia has extensive groundwater resources but these resources are not uniformly distributed, and are subject to depletion and pollution through use and to saline intrusion in coastal areas;

6. Quality of surface flows is, to a degree, dependent upon quantities of flow, natural pollution sources and, in part, activities of man;

7. Water is a reusable multi-purpose resource;

8. Development and use of water resources should be based on sound planning;

9. Water resources use is affected by and affects land resource management and population and economic growth;

10. Use of groundwater and use of surface waters are interdependent functions;

11. Wastewater, in many cases, can be safely and economically reclaimed for a variety of beneficial uses, including agricultural and industrial uses;

12. Municipal and industrial demands for water are relatively "constant" whereas the quantities of unmanaged supplies, particularly surface waters, are variable;

13. For the maximum social and economic benefits to all the citizens of the Commonwealth, Virginia must act to protect its water resources and the ecosystems dependent upon them from unnecessary pollution, degradation or destruction. The needs of Virginia's citizens for water resources should be met in such a manner as to preserve these water related environments to the greatest possible degree;

14. State constitutional provisions, statutes and common law constrain water resources use;

15. Federal constitutional provisions and federal statutes constrain and influence water resources use at state level; and

16. Potential sites for reservoirs for flood control and water supply are limited and the need for their preservation must be recognized by the Commonwealth so that their use for these purposes, if it is consistent with ecological and scenic considerations, will not be precluded by uncontrolled development on these sites causing them to become too expensive for use as reservoirs.