The case is about a city's water security and draws on the intense debate about the construction of a reservoir in a college town in Virginia in the wake of a record drought. The case highlights the role of public utilities in water provision, illustrates the different positions of various stakeholders, and raises the question of what the appropriate price for water is. It provides stylized facts of water use across sectors and rests on a basic analysis of present and future water demand as well as on an assessment of future water supply. This case is used in Darden's elective, "The Global Economics of Water." It would also work well in courses dealing with the environmental impacts of urban planning.
