Part 3 - Wednesday, June 16 
After years of legal challenges, Virginia Beach saw an end to its fifteen year odyssey for an independent water supply. After clearing numerous legal challenges, the city turned to the logistical challenges of building a pipeline. On today’s episode of "Tapping Gaston," we remember the construction challenges of building a 76-mile pipeline through protected wetlands, private property, and towns who knew the city would pay for access.

About the Series:

For some in the region, the morning shower, your needed cup of coffee, the drops you put on those prized rose bushes, starts 125 miles west of the city in a small tributary of Lake Gaston, a body of water that straddles the border of North Carolina and is then piped 76 miles to a series of reservoirs. Forty five years ago, water became the defining issue for the future of the city of Virginia Beach and subsequently, the region.

This week, WHRV’s Jordan Christie and Barry Graham present “Tapping Gaston,” which looks back at how the Lake Gaston Pipeline helped secure an independent source of water for the city. Listen to interviews with many of the Virginia Beach officials who maneuvered a 15 year battle to help secure what some say was the biggest and most important accomplishment for the city and region in history. Also, hear national experts on the economics of water and how this precious commodity allows communities to thrive.

You can also listen online.