Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2004WV31B

West Virginia Water Conference 2004

Institute: West Virginia
Year Established: 2004 Start Date: 2004-03-01 End Date: 2005-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $22,336 Total Non-Federal Funds: $36,662

Principal Investigators: Tamara Vandivort

Project Summary: West Virginia has an abundant and valuable resource: water. Yet West Virginia essentially has no water law. Water is used on a first come first use basis. With rapid growth in the eastern panhandle and the large populations in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC, the rising need for more and more water in these areas may soon focus on West Virginias water resources. As the Potomac River works its way into these areas, who really owns the waterthose at the source or the end users? How can the state protect its water rights? Water is something we all use and take for granted until there is a shortage. We all want it for our own needs. Its free or cheap now but that could change as it has in the western states. If users in other states manage to get legal rights to West Virginias water, there could be serious economic impacts. The water rights issue has been much debated at the previous two water conferences co-sponsored by the West Virginia Water Research Institute in October 2002 and October 2003. Both conferences have been very beneficial in bringing this issue to the forefront and making people aware of our States situation. It would be beneficial to have a water conference yearly. For 2004, the WVWRI proposes to take the lead in holding another State water conference. The conference agenda would be developed by a planning committee comprised of State water stakeholders. Stakeholders will be invited to co-sponsor the conference in terms of time and resources. The objectives would include 1) expanding the awareness of water issues in the state; 2) providing attendees with an awareness of on-going water research; 3) providing attendees with an awareness of on-going legislation underway to protect the States water resources; 4) networking of the States water stakeholders; 5) revisiting the issues listed above and prioritizing them in order of importance from the viewpoints of the participants; 5) presenting the prioritized listing of issues to the West Virginia Advisory Committee for possible inclusion in future WVWRI RFPs.