Article III. AUTHORITY OF COUNTY TO MAINTAIN WATER SUPPLY SYSTEMS  

Section 1. The board of supervisors of any county in this state which adjoins three cities lying wholly within this state one of which cities has a population of 170,000 or more as shown by the last preceding United States census, shall be and it hereby is authorized and empowered to construct, reconstruct, maintain, alter, improve, add to and operate water supply systems in said county.

Section 2. Said boards shall have the following additional powers and duties subject to the conditions and limitations hereinafter prescribed.

(a)

To acquire by gift, condemnation, purchase, lease or otherwise water supply system or systems.

(b)

To furnish water from any such system to any sanitary district, village, town, community, individual, firm, corporation or partnership, and to make such charge for such supply of water as the board may from time to time determine upon.

(c)

To lay a levy for the purpose of raising funds for the construction, maintenance, operation, improvement, acquisition and reconstruction of any such water systems or in lieu thereof to appropriate from the general county fund for such purposes.

(d)

To contract for a loan and to issue bonds for the purpose of construction, acquisition, reconstruction, improvement, maintenance and operation of any such water systems on the credit of the county, provided that such borrowing power shall not exist and the loan shall not be contracted for nor bonds issued unless and until the action of the board of supervisors determining to construct, maintain and operate or acquire, reconstruct and improve such water systems shall be certified to the judge of the circuit court of said county petitioning the said judge to call an election for the purpose of obtaining the approval of such loan and bond issue by the qualified voters of the county. After receipt of the petition of the board of supervisors above referred to, the judge of the circuit court of said county, in term time or in vacation, shall call an election in the manner and by the method prescribed for a like purpose as is authorized in chapter 161 of the Acts of the General Assembly of Virginia 1926, as amended, and the regular election officers of said county shall be governed by the provisions of said chapter 161, as amended.

(e)

If said board shall be authorized by the qualified voters approval to issue bonds, then said board shall proceed to issue such bonds in the manner prescribed in chapter 161 of the Acts of the General Assembly of Virginia 1926, as amended, supplying the name of the county wherein the same may be indicated, as fully as if the terms of said chapter 161 was fully set out herein.