LANDSFORD CANAL STATE PARK, S.C. - A signature Tuesday by S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford created a commission to referee the Carolinas' tug-of-war over the Catawba River.

The Catawba/Wateree River Basin Bi-State Commission won't have any regulatory power. But it's the first formal attempt for the two states to scrutinize the increasing demands on the river they share.

"It's a forum that may lead to other things. It's a place where discussions could start," said N.C. Sen. Dan Clodfelter. The Charlotte Democrat and his S.C. counterpart, Sen. Wes Hayes, R-Rock Hill, guided legislation creating the commission.

Likely conversation starters: Duke Power's renewal of its hydropower license, which will generate stacks of scientific data. And South Carolina's plan, now under development, to curb algae-stimulating phosphorus in the watershed.

Some observers believe the 15-member commission could evolve into a water arbiter, doling out rights to users.

"We would hope that over time the power and authority of this commission would grow," said Phil Land, Hayes' legislative aide.

The Catawba/Wateree basin extends from the N.C. foothills to the S.C. coast, a region of explosive growth. The problem is not just one of supplying clean water to homes and businesses. Enough water has to flow downriver to also dilute the treated wastes that towns and industries flush away each day.

Demand for water from its Catawba reservoirs will more than double over the next 50 years, says a recent Duke Power study. That's still only a fraction of the water the Catawba produces, but the increase makes drought potentially more threatening.

The four-year drought that ended in 2002 pushed some towns and industries in the basin to the brink of dry taps. Conditions were even worse on the Yadkin River, east of Charlotte, which becomes the Pee Dee as it flows into South Carolina.

The legislation creating the Catawba/Wateree commission also created a Yadkin/Pee Dee commission. No members for either panel have been named.

Both Carolinas already have interstate water agreements. North Carolina and Virginia jointly created an advisory Roanoke River commission in 2002. South Carolina has an agreement with Georgia over groundwater use around Savannah and Hilton Head Island.

If nothing else, said Catawba Riverkeeper Donna Lisenby, the commission recognizes the Catawba's significance to the 14 counties through which it flows.

That recognition began four years ago, when opponents lobbied S.C. legislators to kill a proposed sewage-treatment plant on the Catawba. The new plant would be located in South Carolina, but some of its sewage would come from Charlotte. It was never built.

"This is a first step that begins to say, in the long run, there is going to have to be equitable distribution of water between the two states," Lisenby said.

Water wars have erupted in the American West and closer to home, including a feud between Georgia, Alabama and Florida. Congress mandated the creation of an interstate compact to divvy up the waters of the Delaware River.

"We want to do it without litigation," Clodfelter said. "We want to do it with cooperation and coordination."