Water Rates

Baltimore County residents served by the city's water system won't see a rate increase this year, county officials said Tuesday, despite a city proposal to impose a 15 percent increase. Baltimore City's Department of Public Works proposed the rate increase this week. The city and county have had a cost-sharing agreement for decades. But a county spokeswoman said budget officials have already determined that the county can absorb the increased cost without passing it on to county customers - even though they don't yet have specifics on how much the county might have to cover.

Anne Arundel County residents will soon pay more for drinking water and for flushing toilets. The county is proposing to raise water and wastewater rates by about 5 percent when the new fiscal year begins July 1. Water rates will be increased from $2.68 per 1,000 gallons to $2.81 per 1,000 gallons. Wastewater rates will go up from $4.71 per 1,000 gallons to $4.94 per 1,000 gallons. A proposed 15 percent increase in Baltimore City's water rates is only a minor factor in the decision to raise Anne Arundel's rates, according to Matt Diehl, a spokesman for the county Department of Public Works.

Anne Arundel County residents will soon pay more for drinking water and for flushing toilets. The county is proposing to raise water and wastewater rates by about 5 percent when the new fiscal year begins July 1. Water rates will be increased from $2.68 per 1,000 gallons to $2.81 per 1,000 gallons. Wastewater rates will go up from $4.71 per 1,000 gallons to $4.94 per 1,000 gallons. A proposed 15 percent increase in Baltimore City's water rates is only a minor factor in the decision to raise Anne Arundel's rates, according to Matt Diehl, a spokesman for the county Department of Public Works.

Baltimore's spending board voted Wednesday to approve another property tax break for city homeowners, part of Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's plan to cut property taxes by 22 percent over 10 years. The tax credit approved by the Board of Estimates would knock $140 off the median property tax bill on owner-occupied homes. That is on top of the $40 cut that came when the panel created the credit last year. The numbers are based on the taxes that would be due on a property assessed at $200,000.

ON A WARM DAY, I pulled the garden hose out of winter storage, washed the cars and began chanting "self-sustaining operation." That is a phrase I heard as the price of water, along with the spring onions, shot up. This week Baltimore officials proposed increasing the water and sewer rates, an increase that affects the city and five surrounding counties tapped into the water supply. I don't pretend to understand the intricacies of municipal water management. But at home, I preside over the pipes.

To keep from having to increase water rates in the middle of a fiscal year, Baltimore County officials have decided to appeal a ruling that would have required the county to pay Baltimore $10.2 million to settle a 13-year dispute over water rates.County Executive Roger B. Hayden said the county was fighting the decision by an arbitration panel because it constitutes "retroactive rate-making.""If the ruling is allowed to stand, it would force the county to increase charges to customers in the middle of a fiscal year, which would be unfair," the executive said.

The mayor and Town Council of Hampstead will hold a workshop on water rates at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow at Town Hall. Councilman Haven N. Shoemaker Jr. said town water rates have not changed in 11 years. The Town Council must approve new water rates. Water rates usually are passed as an ordinance with at least one public hearing. A change in water rates takes into consideration population growth, the town's water infrastructure and costs business, including federal regulations, said Town Manager Ken Decker.

Water and sewer rates for county utility customers should be raised to reduce an operating deficit and make the systems more self-sufficient, say the county commissioners."

An article in Wednesday's Carroll County section of The Sun incorrectly characterized Union Bridge water and sewer rates. A rate increase was introduced Monday; it will be voted on in the July 25 meeting. Also, the proposed fee for sewer use above 15,000 gallons per quarter was misstated. Under the proposed rate structure, the charge would be $1.95 for each 1,000 gallons of sewer use above 15,000 gallons.The Sun regrets the errors.Union Bridge residents will be paying more for water and sewer service beginning in October.

The Carroll County Commissioners objected yesterday to a planned 16 percent increase in Baltimore water rates because most of the extra money will go to fix parts of the city's decaying infrastructure that have little direct impact on Carroll. The county draws much of its water from the city-owned Liberty Reservoir but maintains its own treatment plants and networks of pipes. Commissioners say Carroll would be paying 16 percent more for untreated water while deriving little benefit from planned upgrades to the city's water and sewer systems.

Baltimore County residents served by the city's water system won't see a rate increase this year, county officials said Tuesday, despite a city proposal to impose a 15 percent increase. Baltimore City's Department of Public Works proposed the rate increase this week. The city and county have had a cost-sharing agreement for decades. But a county spokeswoman said budget officials have already determined that the county can absorb the increased cost without passing it on to county customers - even though they don't yet have specifics on how much the county might have to cover.

There is an old adage, often heard in the local marinas, that a boat is nothing more than a hole in the water into which you pour money. Turns out the same could be said about Baltimore's water and sewer system - it is a money-soaking hole that puts the Queen Mary to shame. That the city's water system is old and deteriorating is nothing new. No doubt there are pipes still in the ground that would have served Edgar Allan Poe in his day - if the notorious drinker ever had a taste for non-alcoholic beverages, that is. But that problem was apparent last year, and the year before, and the year before that, and on and on. For more than a decade, Baltimore has been raising water rates annually by 9 percent or more.

Baltimore water officials have been dogged in the past year by a series of extremely public problems: widespread billing errors that required millions in refunds, massive water main breaks that closed downtown streets, and a collapsed stormwater culvert that took five months and $7 million to fix. Accompanying those issues has been criticism from customers, many of whom are upset with rising costs and what they see as lapses in service. But city officials say that behind the scenes, they have been making progress on the city's aged and long-deteriorating water system.

Back in the late 1700s, when Baltimoreans got their water from nearby streams, springs and wells, every household was ordered to keep two leather buckets filled to fight fires. That precaution might come in handy again, as the water main break Monday near the Inner Harbor delivered a disruptive reminder to downtown businesses and commuters of just how decrepit the regional system supplying the vital liquid has become. For years, there have been about 1,000 breaks annually in the 4,500-mile network of underground pipes that carries water to 1.8 million residents in the city and parts of Anne Arundel, Baltimore and Howard counties.

I believe your readers would be most interested in learning exactly what water infrastructure was replaced by the water bill hikes of 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008 and 2007. I know it would make me feel better about the current hike to know that all five of the last fee hikes were actually used to rebuild our aging system. Larry J. Gray Sr., Baltimore

Another massive water main break in downtown Baltimore has brought to the surface a problem that has been slowly building beneath our feet for decades. Our more than century-old water system routinely leaks millions of gallons into the ground and, with some regularity, experiences spectacular failures that stop traffic, shutter businesses and leave thousands without one of life's necessities. To their credit, some of the city's top officials have been trying to address a problem that is generally out of sight, out of mind.

The New Windsor Town Council voted last night to increase water rates by 50 percent to eliminate the need to subsidize the money-losing service with general funds.During last night's monthly council meeting, Mayor Jack A. Gullo Jr. said that under the current rate scale, the water service would have a deficit of more than $15,000 by June 30, the end of the fiscal year.The new rates will take effect in December."The bottom line is that the water rates are going to have to be increased," the mayor told the council and residents at the meeting.

The Town Council is expected to approve a budget tomorrow that will increase water rates but maintain the current 58-cent property tax rate.The approval is expected after a public hearing at 7 p.m. at the Town Hall, 1034 S. Carroll St.The proposed 1992 budget of $577,793.49 would be a 7 percent increase over the $539,685 budget for the fiscal year that ends June 30.Water rates will rise by at least 30 cents per 1,000 gallons. The Town Council will decide Monday night between two rate structures, including one that charges households more as their water usage rises.

ON THE SITE... Portions of Light Street to close for 3 weeks for water main repairs :  Two blocks of Light Street are expected to be closed to traffic for weeks so crews can replace a water main that broke during rush hour Monday, according to a public works department spokesman. Three shot in Brooklyn neighborhood :  Three men were shot - one fatally, and another who was critically injured - in two incidents in South Baltmore's Brooklyn neighborhood, near the Anne Arundel County line.  Miller says lawmakers must be asked for their votes on gambling :  Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller said that "some hard work" and "elbow grease" are required in coming days if the General Assembly is to come back for a special session on gambling expansion.  Ten arrested in Howard County prostitution sting :  Howard County police have charged 10 men with solicitation of prostitution and disorderly conduct during an operation targeting solicitation activities along the U.S. 1 corridor in Laurel.

WEATHER The National Weather Service is calling for Thursday to be mostly sunny and hot in the Baltimore area , with a high near 97. Low humidity, low moisture and gusty winds increase the risk for fires. There is also a  small craft advisory in effect Thursday night for the Maryland Chesapeake Bay from Smith Point to Drum Point. TRAFFIC Check our traffic updates for this morning's issues as you plan your commute. FROM LAST NIGHT...