State officials estimate they would spend $6.25 million over five years to inventory the state's water supply to help manage water in future droughts.

Environmental groups oppose the plan's slant toward businesses, which have substantial influence on how water resources would be allocated. Opponents also object to provisions that would waive requirements to report water usage for some classes of industries.

State officials counter the criticisms by pointing out that the recommendations from a committee of business leaders, environmentalists and residents - would not be binding. The state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the General Assembly can override any plan the committee develops.

Pennsylvania has been battered by drought off and on for the past four years. Three counties, including Cumberland County, remain under a drought emergency, which requires mandatory 10 to 15 percent reductions in water usage. York and Lancaster counties are under a drought warning - the nextserious level of drought, which requires voluntary cutbacks of 10 percent to 15 percent, Dauphin and Lebanon counties are under a drought watch, which means voluntary reductions of 5 percent to 10 percent.

State officials estimated $321 million in crop losses statewide this year.

The new law will be able to provide comprehensive data to assess water supplies throughout the state, something the York Water Co. has wanted for years, said Jeffrey Osman, the company's vice president of finance. The company already voluntarily reports its usage to the state and says that other companies should be required to do the same. "We're pretty encouraged now that others will have to provide this data," he said.

The York Water Co. struggled under this year's drought, with sales dropping by more than 3 percent in the first three quarters, Osman said. November rainfall brought reservoirs back to capacity.

Although the lack of legislation did not affect the York Water Co. directly, the drought losses underscored the need for a plan, Osman said.

The General Assembly passed a bill in November that would appoint six regional committees and a statewide committee to assess water needs and resources statewide. Each person who uses more than an average of 10,000 gallons a day in a 30-day period will have to register the source, location and amount of water used.

Gov. Mark Schweiker has said he will sign the legislation this month. It becomes effective 90 days after that.

The state last took an inventory of water supplies 20 years ago, said DEP spokesman Dan Rooney. This legislation would call for a far more comprehensive accounting, he said.

The water bill "avoids tackling the tough questions," said Democratic Rep. Camille George, who represents parts of Centre and Clearfield counties. George, who has been one of the bill's sharpest critics, blasted the bill's Republican creators for composing a "pro-industry" statewide committee and not requiring permits. George also criticized the timetable, saying the inventory could be done in several months, not five years. He said the state couldn't wait that long for a water plan.

George favored his bill, which would have required permits for those who use more than 10,000 gallons of water daily. His bill also would create a water conservation technical assistance program and conservation credits for people who have reduced water consumption. That bill passed the Senate a year ago, but the House never took it up.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation also had a number of objections to the bill the General Assembly passed, but many of them were corrected during last-minute negotiations, said Matthew Ehrhart, the group's executive director for Pennsylvania. Language was changed so that the bill does not repeal any of the water-quality protections in the Clean Streams Law. Local municipalities also will be allowed to create their own water limits because of another change, he said.

One lingering problem in the bill is that it allows people who regularly use the same amount of water annually to obtain a waiver from reporting usage. The bill permits an entire class of users to obtain the waiver instead of limiting it to individuals - which leaves room for abuse, Ehrhart said.

"It's definitely something the whole environmental community is going to have be fairly vigilant about," he said. "Theoretically, they could exempt the whole agricultural community."

Ehrhart also believes regional and state committees should allow for more representation by members of the public who aren't motivated by business interests. He also objected to the committee's power to change a water resources plan after the public can no longer comment.

Concerns over the bill are unfounded, said Rooney of the DEP. The bill is intended as a planning tool and is not binding. The DEP and the General Assembly can ask for changes at any time.

Eleven of the 24 statewide committee seats have been designated for agricultural interests. An additional seven have been reserved for federal and state conservation agents and researchers. Lawmakers left the remaining six open. Gov.elect Ed Rendell will fill them.

Business should have a significant representation on the committee to develop a realistic plan, said Walt Peetchatka, executive vice president of the PennAg Industries Association. The association monitors regulations and legislation and lobbies the Legislature on agricultural business issues.

Peetchatka acknowledges that loopholes do exist that businesses could use in their favor. But he said they would suffer if they tried to abuse the system.

"There's no advantage for industries of any kind to take advantage of a process like this," he said.

Overall, the legislation is better than nothing at all, Ehrhart said. With suburban sprawl creating more problems with water supplies, Pennsylvania is in desperate need of water planning, Ehrhart said.

"We felt it was critical that Pennsylvania move ahead with water resources planning," he said.

Ehrhart said that he hopes the legislation means better planning for development, especially with regard to runoff. Some states already require developers to meet minimum requirements for groundwater infiltration. "We're going to be able to predict where there's going to be problems," he said.