15.2-924 - Water supply emergency ordinances.
§ 15.2-924. Water supply emergency ordinances.
A. Whenever the governing body of any locality finds that a water supplyemergency exists or is reasonably likely to occur if water conservationmeasures are not taken, it may adopt an ordinance restricting the use ofwater by the citizens of such locality for the duration of such emergency orfor a period of time necessary to prevent the occurrence of a water supplyemergency. However, such ordinance shall apply only to water supplied by alocality, authority, or company distributing water for a fee or charge. Suchordinance may include appropriate penalties designed to prevent excessive useof water, including, but not limited to, a surcharge on excessive amountsused.
B. After such an emergency has been declared in any locality, any owner of awater supply system serving that locality may apply to the State WaterControl Board for assistance. If the State Water Control Board confirms theexistence of an emergency, and finds that such owner and such locality haveexhausted available means to relieve the emergency and that the owner andlocality are applying all feasible water conservation measures, and inaddition finds that there is water available in neighboring localities inexcess of the reasonable needs of such localities, and that there existsbetween such neighboring localities interconnections for the transmission ofwater, the Board shall so inform the Governor. The Governor, if requestedjointly by the locality and the owner of the systems supplying the locality,may then appoint a committee consisting of one representative of the localitydeclaring the emergency, one representative of the system supplying thelocality under emergency, and those two representatives shall choose a thirdrepresentative and failing to choose such third representative within sevendays he shall be selected by the Governor. The committee shall have the dutyand authority to allocate the water available in such localities for theperiod of the emergency, provided that the period of the emergency shall notexceed that determined by the locality declaring the emergency or the StateWater Control Board whichever period termination is earlier, so that the bestwater supply possible will be provided to all water users during theemergency as previously described. Nothing in this section shall be construedas requiring the construction of pipeline interconnections between anylocality or any water supply system.
C. Any water taken from one water supplier for the benefit of another shallbe paid for by using the established rate schedule of the supplier fortreated water. Raw water shall be furnished at rates which shall reflect allcosts to the supplying locality, including, but not limited to, capitalinvestment costs. Should there be imposed upon the supplier any additionalobligation, water production costs or other capital or operating expendituresbeyond those normal to the suppliers' system, then the cost of same shall bechargeable to the receiving locality by single payment or by incorporation ina special rate structure, all of the same as shall be reasonable.
D. Nothing contained in this section shall authorize any locality to regulatethe use of water taken from a river or any flowing stream when such water isused for industrial purposes and the approximate same quantity of water isreturned to such river or stream after such industrial usage.
(1978, c. 669, § 15.1-37.3:4; 1997, c. 587; 2001, c. 258.)