Flushing

The Westminster Department of Public Works will conduct its annual flushing of fire hydrants from 8 p.m. to midnight Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.Areas that will be affected are Carroll Meadows, Eden Farms and Devlin Square, Sullivan Heights, Hahn Road, Cranberry Road, Cranberry Mall and Cranberry Square.Flushing will cause some discoloration of water, and residents should not do laundry the next day. Faucets should be opened first thing in the morning and allowed to run until water is clear.

For decades in Maryland many things have been done in the name of saving the Chesapeake Bay, but the degree to which tangible progress has been made is something of a disappointment. To be sure, there have been some successes. The mid-1980s ban on catching rockfish in an effort to allow the Chesapeake stock of the state fish to make a recovery has resulted in reasonably healthy stocks of the fish being available for watermen and sport anglers alike these days. Substantially stricter regulation of blue crab harvests seem to have helped avert a rockfish-like population collapse in Maryland's signature table fare.

Harford County's biannual flushing of its 4,200 fire hydrants, postponed last year because of the drought, is under way and will end June 7. There will be a temporary discoloration of the water, changes in water pressure or temporary interruption of water service during this time. Customers can expect the flushing to occur between 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, although the county may continue the work from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends. County officials delayed the action last year for water conservation, according to Robert Cooper, deputy public works director for the water and sewer division.

Dr. Luis Diaz is an oncologist at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, a researcher with patented findings and the co-founder of a small, fast-expanding company. "We've grown from no employees to one employee to four employees and now we have 12," said Diaz, chief medical officer of the Baltimore-based Personal Genome Diagnostics. The Baltimore region is a top performer in research but is merely middling when it comes to patenting innovations, a critical next step in the progression Diaz made to job creation.

Westminster's Department of Public Works is having its annual fire hydrant flushing from 8 p.m. to midnight Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.Affected areas are: Airport Drive, Magna Way, Tech Court, Wyndtryst Drive, Dunrovin Avenue, College View Boulevard and Glen Drive.Flushing will cause discoloration of water, and residents should not do laundry the next day. Faucets should be opened first thing in the morning and allowed to run until water is clear.Residents should draw water the night before for the next morning.

The Harford County Public Works Department's Water and Sewer Division will begin its biannual flushing of fire hydrants tomorrow. Flushing will take place between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. daily. Division officials say they expect the operation to be complete June 30. About 4,000 hydrants are involved.

Hampstead's Water Department will flush all fire hydrants beginning at 9 p.m. Wednesday.The flushing will cause some discoloration during and after flushing Thursday.Residents are advised to draw enough water before flushing begins to accommodate their morning needs, especially for cooking. The average house system contains less than 100 gallons of water. Residents are advised not to do laundry during flushing or Thursday until water is clear.All water is fully treated and drinkable even though discolored.

Carroll County Bureau of Utilities will continue routine flushing of fire hydrants in the Freedom, Flohrville and Sykesville areas through Oct. 31. Flushing will be done between 8:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. and between midnight and 6 a.m. weekdays. Residents might experience a slight loss of water pressure and detect cloudiness in tap water, and are advised not to use large amounts of water during those times. Information: 410-386-2164. Public meeting Historic commission: Sykesville Historic District Commission will meet at 7 p.m. today at the Town House, 7547 Main St. Information: 410-795-8959.

The Carroll County Bureau of Utilities will begin flushing fire hydrants in the Eldersburg area today.The flushing, which clears the filtration system of sediment that has accumulated in the bottom of lines, will continue through Oct. 29.Residents should not experience any loss of water pressure, county officials said, but tap water may be temporarily discolored. The water is safe to drink and can be used for washing, the officials said.% Information: 857-2164

Hampstead residents should store clear drinking water today -- and procrastinate on laundry -- because Hampstead will begin flushing its fire hydrants about 9 p.m."If you need water for coffee or [orange juice], draw it now," Town Manager Neil Ridgely said yesterday. Otherwise the water might be murky: safe to drink, but not visually appealing.He also suggested that town residents wait to do laundry until tomorrow morning -- first running the washer on empty for a short cycle to remove anything that might stain clothes.

Now it's official: A report released today (8/30) finds the Conowingo Dam is losing its ability to prevent pollution from reaching the Chesapeake Bay. The U.S. Geological Survey reports that the reservoirs behind Conowingo and other dams on the lower Susquehanna River are nearly full of sediment and are increasingly failing to trap it as it washes down river.  The 94-foot-high hydroelectric structure at Conowingo is just the last and largest of...

Maryland lawmakers earned high marks from the Maryland League of Conservation Voters for passing a string of significant environmental laws this year.  But the lofty grades given legislators by the league last week reflect only mixed success in Annapolis for environmental groups amid a deepening party divide on green issues. The House of Delegates voted "green" 69 percent of the time this year, according to the league's scorecard, while the Senate did so on 63 percent of the key votes.  Each of those scores was the highest in the past four years.

Maryland-based jockey Mario Pino says he once heard that the great race rider Laffit Pincay would wear his underwear inside out. For luck. Ramon Dominguez, Eclipse Award-winning jockey the last two years, likes to have Perrier water and animal crackers in his jockey room stall. And he puts his left boot on first. Always. They call horse racing the fastest two minutes in sports, but a jockey's preparation begins the night before and continues until the moment the starting gates clang open.

The General Assembly just voted to double the flush tax. What a joke on us. Remember how the Democrats ridiculed this when Republican Gov.Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. proposed it? Now it's good since Democratic Gov.Martin O'Malley is for it? F. Cordell

In a legislative session marked by discord over taxes and gambling, lawmakers came together to pass three major bills aimed at boosting Chesapeake Bay cleanup efforts. They failed to agree, however, on other environmental priorities - a bill to subsidize building wind turbines off Ocean City, and a measure requiring natural gas companies to pay for studying the impacts of drilling for energy in western Maryland. The General Assembly approved two bay billls that were priorities of the O'Malley administration bills, one doubling the 'flush fee' to pay for upgrading sewage treatment plants and another limiting rural development on septic systems.  A third late-moving bill pushed by environmentalists would require Baltimore city and nine suburban counties to levy local fees to pay for curbing polluted runoff from their streets and parking lots.

While others found much to criticize about this year's General Assembly, environmental activists hailed it Tuesday as the most significant in decades for advancing long-running efforts to restore the Chesapeake Bay. In a year when lawmakers balked at raising taxes or fees for other purposes, they approved the doubling of a "flush fee" for fixing up Maryland's sewage treatment plants and ordered the state's largest communities to levy fees on...

Central Special School will stay closed today for a third day because of tainted water at the five-school South River complex as school officials scramble for a way to get the 139 severely disabled children back to classes.Students at the other four schools in Edgewater were supplied with bottled and potable water, but that is a problem for Central Special's students, said spokeswoman Jane Doyle.Some children cannot open the bottles, and most have rigorous sanitary needs that require a lot of water, she said.

The General Assembly gave final approval today to Gov.Martin O'Malley's two Chesapeake Bay priority bills - one doubling the so-called "flush fee" to help pay for bay restoration efforts, and the other limiting development using septic systems. By a vote of 89-48, the Senate concurred this morning on relatively minor House amendments to the Bay Restoration Fund bill, HB446 , which would increase from $2.50 to $5 monthly the charge levied on most Maryland households and businesses to pay for upgrading the state's largest wastewater treatement plants.

Maryland's House of Delegates just passed a bill that doubles the "flush tax" -- a fee on water use -- sending it to Gov. Martin O'Malleyfor his signature. Passing the bill was a key part of the governor's agenda this year. The bill increases the fee from $2.50 per household per month to $5. Funds will be used to upgrade wastewater faciliites. It passed the House 89 to 48. The bill ( HB 446 ) was amended to exclude parts of the state, like Garrett County and parts of the Eastern Shore, that are not part of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.