Water Levels

A hydrogeologist delivered news yesterday that only schoolchildren would want to hear: Carroll will need several snowy days this winter to get its water supply back to normal."

St. Mary's County has notified residents downstream from St. Mary's Lake Dam of significant flooding from heavy rains that came along with Hurricane Irene. The county had warned residents that the dam could fail. Eddie Hopkins, a spokesman for the Maryland Emergency Management Agency, said this morning that the water levels at the dam had reached 68 feet; the dam can fail when water reaches 71 feet. No residents have been forced to leave their homes, and Hopkins said officials at this time do not expect a breech.

The Sumatran earthquake that triggered the devastating South Asian tsunami on Dec. 26 was so powerful its seismic waves coursed through the Earth's crust and sent water levels surging in a monitoring well in southwestern Virginia, 10,000 miles away. State and federal geologists said water in the 450-foot limestone well in Christiansburg began oscillating, surging upward at least 2 feet, and down at least 3 over a half-hour period as the seismic waves passed. It was five hours before the water returned to its former levels and calmed down.

High water from the weekend rainstorm appeared to be cresting Monday without posing major threats to flood-prone locations along the Potomac and Susquehanna rivers. The partial failure of a wooden inlet lock along the C&O Canal five miles west of Washington prompted alerts to businesses along the canal where it enters the District of Columbia. Lock 5, at the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park, was designed to feed water from the Potomac into the canal, according to park spokesman Bill Spinrad.

Fishing has been slow to develop, with ice and snow and high water levels, but there has been sporadic yellow perch activity on Tuckahoe Creek at Hillsboro, below the dam at Tuckahoe State Park, in the Nanticoke River near Seaford, Del., the Blackwater and in the Patuxent near Wayson's Corner.But with water levels high, especially in the Potomac River, great care should be taken by shoreline fishermen, and boating in some areas remains out of the question.

Water levels at Liberty Reservoir have crested for the first time since June 1998, providing city customers a cushion in the event of a drought this year, according to Baltimore's Department of Public Works. By contrast, the reservoir dipped to 26 feet below crest during the drought in 1999. Loch Raven Reservoir crested March 30, and water levels at Prettyboy Reservoir are 2 1/2 feet below crest and rapidly rising, the agency said.

Low water levels delay sewage system testing Current ground water levels in Carroll County have prompted the Health Department to delay testing of proposed sites for sewage disposal systems. Maryland sewage disposal and subdivision regulations require certain soil-percolation and other tests to be conducted when the water table in the sewage disposal area is expected to be at its highest level. Levels usually are at their highest between Feb. 1 and April 30. Current data indicates that ground water levels are below normal.

All this rain has ended the drought for farmers, and water tables are rising again. But we are not quite back to normal. The USGS says more than 60 percent of Maryland's monitoring wells remain below seasonal norms. If the rain keeps up, hydrologist Wendy McPherson expects groundwater will keep rising: "P erhaps most of the water levels will be normal by the end of the month."

Man tries to rob store, hits clerk before fleeing A man tried to rob a Hampstead store yesterday afternoon, claiming he had a gun and punching a clerk before he ran off without cash, Maryland State Police reported. Police said the man entered the Family Dollar Store in the 2300 block of Hanover Pike about 3 p.m. He pushed an object against the cashier's back, said he had a gun and told the cashier not to turn around. The cashier began to turn and the would-be robber hit her in the face, police said.

Carroll Lutheran Village selects 2 new trustees The Carroll Lutheran Village board of trustees recently had elections and welcomed two new members. Re-elected to a second three-year term were: R. Wayne Barnes, president of Barnes-Bollinger Insurance; and Thomas J. Zirpoli, president and chief executive officer of Target Community & Educational Services and a Western Maryland College professor. Newly elected to the board were: Ann H. Deming, former bookkeeper and village resident; Marion Suski, multimedia developer for Bell Atlantic and Friends of the Village vice president; and Arthur Steven Wisner, treasurer/ director of financial services at WMC. Two ex officio board members are the Rev. Eugene Alexander, pastor of Holy Spirit Lutheran Church and dean of the Westminster Conference of the Delaware/Maryland Synod, and William Richards, president of the Resident Association Council of the Village.

All this rain has ended the drought for farmers, and water tables are rising again. But we are not quite back to normal. The USGS says more than 60 percent of Maryland's monitoring wells remain below seasonal norms. If the rain keeps up, hydrologist Wendy McPherson expects groundwater will keep rising: "P erhaps most of the water levels will be normal by the end of the month."

As persistent dry conditions have led several Carroll County municipalities to enact voluntary water restrictions, Mount Airy could go one step further to temporarily ban the use of outdoor sprinklers as soon as this week, Mayor Frank Johnson said. Mount Airy officials recently unveiled a tiered system for phasing in possible water restrictions that could last until Sept. 15 and delay new water and sewer connections from being established before that date, Johnson said. "Usage is inching up as the drought continues," Johnson said.

Anne Arundel County officials have instituted voluntary restrictions on indoor water usage on the Mayo Peninsula after recent heavy rainfall overwhelmed the area's sewage treatment plant. About 10,000 gallons of partially treated sewage have overflowed from the Mayo Wastewater Treatment Plant, prompting the county Health Department to close Bear Neck and Whitemarsh creeks. Health officials also warned yesterday of higher bacteria levels throughout all of the county's creeks and other waterways, caused by increased storm runoff from a five-day series of storms that ended Wednesday.

The Sumatran earthquake that triggered the devastating South Asian tsunami on Dec. 26 was so powerful its seismic waves coursed through the Earth's crust and sent water levels surging in a monitoring well in southwestern Virginia, 10,000 miles away. State and federal geologists said water in the 450-foot limestone well in Christiansburg began oscillating, surging upward at least 2 feet, and down at least 3 over a half-hour period as the seismic waves passed. It was five hours before the water returned to its former levels and calmed down.

THE WHOLE REGION should thank the Baltimore County Council for recently moving to more restrictive zoning for more than 35,000 acres in the Prettyboy, Loch Raven and Liberty reservoir watersheds and around streambeds in the Green Spring Valley. Decreasing the number of houses that can be built on each acre in these sensitive areas was a responsible and farsighted step toward better protecting some of the main sources of the entire metropolitan area's drinking water. Maryland is so rich in water -- it defines the state's geography, after all -- that it's very easy for many residents to take this critical resource for granted.

Man tries to rob store, hits clerk before fleeing A man tried to rob a Hampstead store yesterday afternoon, claiming he had a gun and punching a clerk before he ran off without cash, Maryland State Police reported. Police said the man entered the Family Dollar Store in the 2300 block of Hanover Pike about 3 p.m. He pushed an object against the cashier's back, said he had a gun and told the cashier not to turn around. The cashier began to turn and the would-be robber hit her in the face, police said.

Bound by a water contract between Harford County and Baltimore, customers on the county's water system remain under water-use restrictions despite Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s recent lifting of the drought emergency order for Central Maryland. Residents who receive a water bill from any other water system in Harford should contact their supplier about water restrictions in their area. Those on private water systems and wells are no longer affected by the restrictions. Below-normal water levels in the Baltimore reservoir system are responsible for keeping the restrictions in place here and in sections of Baltimore, Anne Arundel and Howard counties served by the city.

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. lifted water restrictions for Harford County and other areas served by Baltimore's water supply Thursday. Water restrictions were lifted for most of Central Maryland last month, but Harford -- along with parts of Anne Arundel, Howard and Baltimore counties -- remained under restriction because of water contracts with the city. Baltimore's reservoirs were at lower-than-acceptable levels at the time. Those reservoirs now contain more than 61 billion gallons of water, which is close to normal for this time of year.

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. lifted water restrictions for Harford County and other areas served by Baltimore's water supply Thursday. Water restrictions were lifted for most of Central Maryland last month, but Harford - along with parts of Anne Arundel, Howard and Baltimore counties - remained under restriction because of water contracts with the city. Baltimore's reservoirs were at lower-than-acceptable levels at the time. Those reservoirs now contain more than 61 billion gallons of water, which is close to normal for this time of year.