Legislators have water on their minds as they aim to wrap up business this week. That's not to say they're all wet. The General Assembly has made progress in dealing with times when there's not enough water, and times when there's too much.

Take drought first. The reservoir-draining conditions of last summer through this spring etched hard-won lessons on dried-up lakebeds. Some have made it into a bill that will give the governor much-needed power to order water systems to cut back in dry times and to transfer water to where it's most needed.

The bill is moving through the House and Senate on its way to Governor Easley's desk. Drawing on recent experience, Easley had sought added powers for future governors in droughts that are sure to come. Now his successors are likely to get some of those powers.

Chief among the lessons of 2007-08 is that simply waiting for rain won't work in a state where water demand has increased more than reservoir capacity. We are, as Rep. Verla Insko of Chapel Hill put it, "no longer a water-wealthy state."

So we have to use water more wisely, along with creating new supplies. The bill requires municipal water systems to produce conservation plans, and gives the state the power to order up stricter measures in an emergency. Crucially, the state will be able to tell water systems with a surplus that they must share with nearby cities (and be compensated for it).

Any such sharing will be limited to the minimum amount necessary -- local water-system officials shouldn't think they can count on a relatively free ride on another system. The bill also makes it clear that "gray water" -- water used in baths or dishwashing -- can be recycled for use in plant and lawn watering. That was a sticking point early on in the drought, when state law seemed to rule out such reuse. Unfortunately, a bid to save more water that's used outside -- by requiring separate meters for new in-ground irrigation systems -- lost in the House.

In all, the drought bill isn't as comprehensive as it could be, but it represents solid progress and sensible planning.

More heavily compromised is a measure dealing with stormwater runoff in 20 coastal counties. This bill, which received final legislative approval Monday night, is actually the legislature's override of the state Environmental Management Commission's new runoff rules, which had been slated to take effect Aug. 1. They were meant to guard shellfish beds against chemicals, oil and bacteria, which run off "impervious surfaces" such as roofs and pavement into coastal creeks and wetlands after heavy rains. These pollutants are deadly to the oyster industry.

Faced with complaints from developers and elected officials, who cited the restrictions' cost, legislators toned down the EMC's rules. That's their right, but it's one that if exercised too frequently -- usually in response to special-interest pressure -- risks undercutting state agencies and bogging legislators down in details.

In this case, the damage appears to be within bounds. The compromise bill goes easier on individual property owners and small developments, but retains runoff-protection measures for more extensive projects. The N.C. Coastal Federation, a conservation alliance, terms it "a great victory." At any rate, it's progress.

In their last-minute debates and votes this week, legislators should strive for the strongest practicable measures to deal with the water shortages that nature sends us all, and the pollution that development can create along the coast.