ROCK HILL, S.C. - Gov. Mark Sanford hopes a bill he has signed helps South Carolina avoid some of the water problems it faced a few years ago, during one of the worst droughts in recent memory.

The Republican governor signed a bill Tuesday that creates two river basin advisory commissions, one to oversee the Yadkin and Great Pee Dee rivers; the other for the Catawba and Wateree rivers.

The commissions will focus on coordination, conversation and conservation, Sanford said.

During the fall of 2002, the Southeast was suffering through a severe drought that had lasted several years. Rivers that originated in North Carolina and flowed into South Carolina were becoming dangerously low or close to drying up altogether.

South Carolina officials were worried about drinking water supplies and the impact on economic development for industries that use the rivers. State officials had to negotiate a deal with North Carolina to ensure its northern neighbors kept enough water flowing into the rivers. The talks became contentious at times, but eventually a deal was reached.

The commissions were recommended by Sanford's water law review committee, which was formed in June 2003.

At Landsford Canal State Park on Tuesday, Sanford told government and business officials as well as nature enthusiasts the Catawba River was critical to economic development.

"It's important we manage this river between the two states," Sanford said. "It has the unusual nature of crossing two Carolinas. This river is critical to the quality of life of this area."

Florence Mayor Frank Willis, a member of the governor's committee, said the bill was a proactive move.

"We think this is a necessary step to manage the water basins in a way that's conducive to everyone," he said. "The problem in the past is that there was no coordinated effort or communication among the parties involved. We were working in the dark."

The governor's law committee report also called for a compact between South Carolina and Georgia detailing how much water each could pull out of the Savannah River and how much wastewater each could put back in.

The 300-mile-long Savannah River is critical to development in both states, which have communities relying on it for drinking water and industries using it to discharge treated wastewater.

Sanford and Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue have discussed how the river should be shared, Perdue's spokeswoman Loretta Lepore said.

"They are very amiable discussions, but I don't think there has been finality on this issue," she said.

The governors have talked about forming committees to work toward a water-sharing agreement, similar to what the Carolinas are doing now, said Mike McShane, the chairman of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources board.

"We got North Carolina started," he said. "Now we can start on Georgia."