Gallons Of Water

Your tomato publication says to give producing plants 1 to 2 gallons of water twice a week during dry spells. I water with a hose, so how can I know how much water I'm giving them? Fill a bucket to 2 gallons with your hose at its regular setting. As you fill it, count aloud until the bucket is full. Whatever number your reach, count to that number when watering a plant and you'll know that you've given it 2 gallons of water. Counting to half the number yields 1 gallon. Huge brown and yellow hornets are buzzing around our door at night.

The prolonged dry spell and lower stream levels have forced suppliers of water to Bel Air and Edgewood Arsenal to switch from their systems to the county's in the past few weeks, while the supplier for Aberdeen Proving Ground plans to make the change as soon as tomorrow. More customers means the county must provide an additional 4.5 million gallons of water a day from its treatment plants. Customers will probably not notice any difference in taste or pressure, nor will they see spikes on their water bills, officials said.

The first day of state-imposed water restrictions brought out the whistleblowers, innovators and philosophers in Howard County.The day after Gov. Parris N. Glendening announced limits on watering gardens, washing cars and filling swimming pools, some residents did not hesitate to tattle on their neighbors. The emergency restrictions carry the threat of warnings and possible fines and jail time.County police spokesman Sgt. Morris Carroll said, "We are encouraging people not to call the police," but rather just say something to a neighbor who may be violating the water restrictions.

Residents of the Freedom area, Carroll's most populous region, might see their water and sewer bills shrink next summer.The county commissioners are expected to order a study next week that would examine the formula used to calculate the rates for public water and sewer service. The formula, which officials call complex, was adopted in 1970."We would like to look at the alternatives," county Comptroller Eugene C. Curfman told the three-member board of commissioners yesterday. "By changing the formula, we may be able to decrease the rates for certain users, particularly the elderly and low-volume users."

Residents of Carroll's most populated area are using more than a million gallons of water less a day this month than in May, county officials said yesterday.In South Carroll, home to about 28,000 people, water use dropped from a record daily high of nearly 3.5 million gallons in May to 2.2 million gallons a day for the first 22 days of August.The county banned all outdoor water use in South Carroll on June 1, and modified the ban 15 days later to outdoor use on alternating days."I think people are taking the water crisis seriously," said Gary Horst, county director of enterprise and recreation services.

Maryland officials amended the state's 3-day-old water restrictions yesterday to permit the reopening of commercial carwashes, as thousands of callers inundated the drought hot line amid growing confusion over what is allowed under the ban.The carwash variance was approved to help the industry avoid any extraordinary economic hardship, state officials said. In the agreement between the state and the MidAtlantic Carwash Association, carwashes that do not recycle at least 80 percent of their water must reduce hours of operation and cut back consumption by 10 percent to open.

Residents of the Freedom Area, Carroll's most populous region, might soon have to pay more for public water and sewer service.According to county Comptroller Eugene C. Curfman, the plan he proposed yesterday would raise the area's water and sewer rates about 5 percent in fiscal year 2000, which begins July 1. The issue will be considered as part of the proposed county budget during a public hearing May 6.Freedom, which includes all of South Carroll and...

The state is in the final stages of reviewing a county plan to build wells at Springfield Hospital Center that would help relieve water shortages in the county's most populated area, Maryland officials said.The county cannot proceed with construction of the wells in Sykesville without the approval of four state agencies. The wells would supplement the water supply for the system's 18,000 customers.South Carroll is under its third consecutive summer of water restrictions because of drought and the county treatment plant's inability to handle more water.

The state is in the final stages of reviewing a county plan to build wells at Springfield Hospital Center that would help relieve water shortages in the county's most populated area, Maryland officials said.The county cannot proceed with construction of the wells in Sykesville without the approval of four state agencies. The wells would supplement the water supply for the system's 18,000 customers.South Carroll is under its third consecutive summer of water restrictions because of drought and the county treatment plant's inability to handle more water.

Like worried watermen and environmentalists along the tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay, Crofton residents are helplessly standing by as the heat wave wipes out the life in their community pond along Route 3.For the second time in as many years, Lake Louise has dried up with the drought. Several dozen fish and water birds that had made the 4-acre lake in front of the Crofton community gates their home have died in recent days.The intense heat has contributed to an algae population boom, and when that plant dies it absorbs oxygen in the lake.

A throng of plaintiffs packed a Towson courtroom yesterday, overflowing into a hallway, to hear the lawyer they had hired make the case that their neighborhood was ruined and their health endangered by the leak from a gas station of thousands of gallons of gasoline. "This is a leak that should not have happened," Stephen L. Snyder, whose firm is representing 300 residents of Jacksonville, said in Baltimore County Circuit Court during opening statements in a trial in which the plaintiffs are collectively seeking $1 billion from Exxon Mobil Corp.

If you're looking to be more green this summer, or if at least you'd like your garden to be, a rain barrel could be the solution. The old-time practice of collecting rainwater is becoming increasingly popular in urban, environmentally conscious communities. Rain barrels are not only good for the environment - conserving water and reducing run off - they make watering your plants a little easier on the pocketbook, as well. Rain barrels are sold online, at big-box hardware stores and at make-your-own rain barrel workshops held by local watershed associations.

The prolonged dry spell and lower stream levels have forced suppliers of water to Bel Air and Edgewood Arsenal to switch from their systems to the county's in the past few weeks, while the supplier for Aberdeen Proving Ground plans to make the change as soon as tomorrow. More customers means the county must provide an additional 4.5 million gallons of water a day from its treatment plants. Customers will probably not notice any difference in taste or pressure, nor will they see spikes on their water bills, officials said.

The owner of a downtown Mount Airy building consumed in an blaze early Sunday announced plans last night to establish a temporary office park for the six destroyed Main Street businesses and several others that were damaged. Rob Scranton, who had renovated the 1930s-era Bohn Building, said trailers could be installed in the downtown parking lot as soon as next week by the same company that offered similar support to the town of La Plata after a tornado in 2002. "There's a lot of work to do in the coming days, months and into the next year," Scranton said at an emergency meeting convened at Mount Airy Town Hall.

As reported Aug. 4, 1957, in The Sun: Thirsty Ellicott City looked in vain yesterday for a long cool glass of water. A muddy trickle dripped from open faucets as the town's critical shortage entered its second day. At 3 o'clock yesterday afternoon, a 7,200-gallon tank truck began a seemingly endless shuttle from the Baltimore county water main on Rolling Road to replenish the town's 250,000-gallon storage tank. Two artesian wells pumped all last night but were unable to fill the gap caused by nearly dry Sucker Branch.

Your tomato publication says to give producing plants 1 to 2 gallons of water twice a week during dry spells. I water with a hose, so how can I know how much water I'm giving them? Fill a bucket to 2 gallons with your hose at its regular setting. As you fill it, count aloud until the bucket is full. Whatever number your reach, count to that number when watering a plant and you'll know that you've given it 2 gallons of water. Counting to half the number yields 1 gallon. Huge brown and yellow hornets are buzzing around our door at night.

The Carroll County commissioners signed a $1.25 million contract yesterday to purchase a New Windsor-area quarry that could yield about 300,000 gallons of water a day as a potential backup source for the water-depleted city of Westminster. It will be the first water source purchased for Westminster since the city signed a consent order with the Maryland Department of the Environment in April, ending a six-month building moratorium because of the water deficit. That agreement mentions the quarry as a potential emergency source during times of drought.

After operating under a six-month building moratorium because of a water shortage, the Westminster City Council is scheduled to vote tomorrow night on a plan that would allocate water the state has granted the city to priority residential and commercial development projects. An additional 60,000 gallons of water per day became available last week when Westminster officials signed a consent order with the Maryland Department of the Environment, laying out steps to expand the city's water supply.

Anne Arundel County officials yesterday lifted a round-the-clock ban on outdoor water usage for an estimated 200,000 residents, although mandatory restrictions remain in effect for communities from Laurel to Linthicum. The ban on outdoor use of public water went into effect Monday for 13 ZIP codes across the county's northern tier after a 42-inch water main broke last weekend in Glen Burnie, spewing at least 3 million gallons. That pipe was replaced Tuesday, and water pressure rose enough to prompt county officials to relax the restrictions.

More water is on its way to South Carroll, but the new water sources are designed to meet current demand, not spur development in Carroll County's most populous and fastest-growing area, officials said. The county will move forward with a $14 million expansion to its water treatment plant in Eldersburg and drill a series of wells to augment the water supply, although officials said that developers should not rush to add more shops and homes to the public water system. "They will have to get in line," said Douglas E. Myers, director of public works.