State senators request special session to act on ‘deeply alarming’ groundwater report
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality released a report revealing significant strain on the state's eastern groundwater supply, which could put clean drinking water at risk and cannot handle new major industrial water withdrawals, including those for data centers using evaporative cooling. State Senators Russet Perry and Richard Stuart are urging Gov. Abigail Spanberger to convene a special session to address these findings and pass policies to rein in water use. The report recommends updating the Groundwater Management Act and mandating that localities' comprehensive plans limit growth based on groundwater availability.
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) recently released a 117-page legislative report highlighting "deeply alarming" levels of strain on the state's groundwater supply east of Interstate 95. The report, which was delayed in its release, warns that current projections indicate declining water availability in the near future, posing risks to clean drinking water and increasing the likelihood of saltwater intrusions. It further states that the eastern aquifers are unlikely to support any new major industrial water withdrawals, including those required for data centers utilizing evaporative cooling systems, due to insufficient reliable groundwater.
In response to these findings, State Senators Russet Perry (D-Loudoun) and Richard Stuart (R-King George) sent a letter to Gov. Abigail Spanberger, urging her to call a special session of the General Assembly. They contend that immediate action is necessary to consider and enact policies to control water use within the Virginia Coastal Plain aquifer system. The senators criticized the delay in the report's release, suggesting that earlier access could have influenced previous legislative and budget decisions.
The DEQ report offers specific recommendations, including updating the 1992 Groundwater Management Act to empower DEQ to deny groundwater withdrawal permits that would deplete aquifer levels past a set threshold. It also proposes mandating that local comprehensive plans incorporate groundwater availability as a limiting factor for growth. The senators emphasized the urgency of these issues, stating that the risks are "too dire" to wait another year for legislative action.