Baltimore's water system was showered with praise this week as the Natural Resources Defense Council, in a report comparing water quality in 19 cities, ranked Baltimore as one of five with "good" water in 2001.
Using reports on pollutants filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the council rated Baltimore's city water better than that in Philadelphia and Washington, but not as good as Chicago's - the only city with an "excellent" rating.
The report also ranked Baltimore as one of eight cities that were good at meeting federal disclosure requirements on water pollutants.
The ratings, released Wednesday during a news conference at Baltimore's Public Works Museum, prompted some local boasting. "Basically it comes down to this, we've got the best drinking water in the country, if not the best, it's close to it," said Kurt Kocher, spokesman for the city Department of Public Works.
Kocher said the city is upgrading the system by bolstering the Loch Raven Dam, improving its treatment and filtration system and repairing many of the system's 3,100 miles of aging pipes.
"We go beyond what the EPA requires in terms of water quality," Kocher said.
The Baltimore system, which dates to 1797, is supplied by three reservoirs - Liberty, Loch Raven and Prettyboy, which are in surrounding jurisdictions but owned by the city. In addition to Baltimore, the system supplies Baltimore County and parts of Anne Arundel, Carroll, Howard and Harford counties.
The 90-page report criticized local officials for not doing enough to protect watersheds from storm water runoff, municipal sewage spills, agricultural waste and industrial pollution.
Baltimore received a "fair" rating in that category. Seattle received the only excellent rating.
Andrew Fellows, Chesapeake program director for Clean Water Action, an environmental group, said the area scored low for protecting watersheds because Carroll County consistently pushed for residential development and resisted regional agreements to protect the Liberty watershed from industrial development.
Carroll has since reversed many of those policies and taken steps to curtail residential building.
Fellows said that overall, the city should be "applauded" for its efforts to improve water quality. "Baltimore has shown great leadership in generating regional support," he said.
He noted agreements between city and county officials to protect the reservoir watersheds and a consent decree, reached last year between city officials and the EPA, ensuring $945 million worth of improvements to the city's wastewater treatment system.
