"Conference Rom A010, in the basement of City Hall, feels like a secret war bunker -- a cluster of tables surrounded by bright orange, Nixon-era swivel chairs. Mother Nature was the enemy at hand on Thursday, October 3, as City officials met to rehash the high and low points of the War on Drought.

It was the meeting that almost wasn't Councilors Rob Schilling and Maurice Cox had taken their seats alongside representatives from the City's budget and public works departments and the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority. But because of a law that requires at least three City Councilors be present to discuss City business, the meeting was postponed 30 minutes until Councilors Kevin Lynch and Meredith Richards turned up.

The meeting began with RWSA Director Larry Tropea delivering what has now become his Drought Update routine -- a stand-up comedy/visions of the apocalypse combo platter. "I know, I'm a ham," Tropea admitted halfway through his presentation, as City Manager Gary O'Connell tapped his wristwatch.

Through a series of charts and pictures, Tropea outlined what most people already know -- the City's water supply is like a rapidly draining bathtub. Stream flows into the reservoirs are nearly non-existent and urban usage hovers around 8 million gallons per day. On a positive note, Tropea and City officials gave a nod to UVA for reducing its overall water consumption by 30 percent since water restrictions took effect in August; he also praised a group of local restaurants, led by the owners of Blue Light Grill, Rapture and OXO, who last week organized to form a collective water-conservation strategy.

Nevertheless, a doomsday scenario that involves tapping fishing lakes and pumping wastewater back into the drinking supply -- if the State will allow it -- seems increasingly likely. But Tropea admitted the last-ditch efforts would only supply an extra 90 to 100 days of water, extending the supply until late winter. "Then we're talking about rationing water on the corner of neighborhoods," says Tropea.

If that wasn't bad enough, the RWSA is also suffering a cash shortage. Since the authority's revenues are based entirely on water output, conservation efforts mean the agency is now underfunded; Tropea. called it an especially unfortunate situation because short- and long-term solutions to the water crisis won't be cheap. During this week, the RWSA board of directors will be considering what Tropea calls a "significant" rate increase.

After Tropea's presentation, City officials discussed what comes next in the Drought War. When reservoir levels drop to 45 percent, a third phase of water restrictions will be enacted said Public Works Director Judith Mueller City staff and Council this week will consider exactly what those restrictions entail. It may mean ordering businesses to cut back on hours of operation or close one day out of the week, officials say.

If it comes to that, officials say Council should spread the burden to everyone, a recommendation that suggests some rethinking of the Phase Two restrictions that last month forced all commercial car washes to close. City officials said much of the urban area's water is being used by the 10,000 apartment units in Charlottesville, and they are encouraging apartment owners to do what some restaurants have done -- voluntarily adopt conservation measures that work for them, instead of waiting for the government to impose restrictions.

"I'd like to keep in front of us that we think of things that apply to everyone in the community, not target particular groups," said City Manager Gary O'Connell." (John Borgmeyer, The C-ville Weekly, October 8-14, 2002).