Following a final meeting on July 7, 2017, the Eastern Virginia Groundwater Management Advisory Committee (EVGMAC) circulated among its membership the final draft Report to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)  and Virginia General Assembly. The EVGMAC is asking members to confirm their support of, or dissent to the report by July 27, 2017.

Once endorsed by members, the EVGMAC’s final report is expected to be published on August 1, 2017. The report and DEQ’s response is expected to be presented to the State Water Commission in October or November of 2017.

Over the past few years, DEQ has been working with large groundwater users to reduce future withdrawals and establish plans to use alternate sources of water. The EVGMAC was established pursuant to 2015 legislation that charges the Committee with assisting the State Water Commission and DEQ in developing and implementing a management strategy for the Eastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area. Key themes in the draft report discussed at the July 7th meeting include:

• Hampton Roads Sanitation District’s Sustainable Water Initiative for Tomorrow (SWIFT) and similar projects for aquifer storage, recovery and recharge should be supported by the Commonwealth.
• General Assembly should establish additional incentives for voluntary regional planning efforts through the Planning District Commissions.
• DEQ should be authorized to develop and implement a groundwater banking system.
• General Assembly should provide funding for a robust groundwater management program including additional model maintenance, water level measurements and development of a monitoring network for saltwater intrusion.