Water Supply

For a jurisdiction that wants to grow but lacks adequate drinking water supplies to do so without relying on others, the Aberdeen city government's recent decision to permit the erection of underground gasoline tanks in an area close to water supply wells used by Harford County is ridiculous and downright shortsighted. The Aberdeen City Council last week voted narrowly to give the go-ahead to Royal Farms to build one of its ubiquitous convenience stores and gas stations at the corner of Newton Lane and Route 7, a half a block away from the busy Route 715 access corridor toAberdeen Proving Ground.

The world's elite have a problem so big it can't even be hinted at in public discussion: There are now too many people to manage. Seven billion and counting, billions more than are needed for human societies to flourish — and thus, most dispensable in this age where technology enables ever more work to be done by ever fewer workers. Global population is projected to increase by 50 percent by 2050, and despite the ongoing pretense that natural resources are infinite, the fact is they are not, and the smart people know this.

The Sun's editorial "Go slow on shale drilling" (Feb. 14) points out very well the risks of mining for gas by using hydraulic fracturing. But one risk not mentioned and that needs to be emphasized is the fact that if the amount of water needed for high volume hydraulic fracturing is used, the fresh water supply for ourselves and our children will be endangered. High volume fracturing, which digs down to 10,000 feet to create fractures in shale through which natural gas can flow for collection, necessitates using millions of gallons of fresh water for each well; because it will be contaminated, this water will probably not be returned to the watershed.

It's the sort of project that might soften objections to suburban development: a Wegmans supermarket that peddles everything from $6 takeout meals to black truffles that can retail for $400 per pound. But the planned Wegmans in Anne Arundel County, part of a $300 million project called The Village at Waugh Chapel South, has sparked protests from some nearby residents. They fear that fly ash soil contamination at the site — a former dump — could pollute their drinking water.

Researchers at the University of Maryland Baltimore County and other institutions have been given $5 million to study how development affects water quality and supply, and how urban landscapes might influence climate. The five-year grant from the National Science Foundation will be shared among 13 scientists, engineers and social scientists at UMBC, the University of Maryland College Park, and seven other institutions and government agencies. Catonsville-based UMBC, which will lead the effort, is to get $1.5 million.

I stood on the Prettyboy Dam again recently and looked down at the thrilling — for these parts, anyway — vision of water spilling out of the gates below, crashing into the big plunge pool and sending the metropolitan area's drinking water down the Gunpowder River, its tree canopy just starting to burn autumn around the edges. About 100 years ago, a municipal water engineer named V. Bernard Siems traveled to northern Baltimore County and hiked along this river until he came upon a high rocky gorge.

Ribbons of hard-packed dirt with nicknames like Sam's Grave, Seminary Loop and Ewok stitch the woods around Loch Raven Reservoir, a training ground for world-champion mountain bikers and urban warriors for more than a decade. But city officials want to halt off-road use by bikers and others trying to reach the water's edge, saying the activity increases erosion and runoff into the reservoir and makes water treatment more expensive. Six watershed rangers have been hired this year with seven more on the way whose duties include enforcing a 10-year-old policy that requires bikers to stay on maintained fire roads.

Workers began disinfecting the water at Stadium Place on Friday while officials wait to learn whether the apartment complex was the source of the Legionnaire's disease that has killed one elderly resident and sickened five others. Specialists from Legionella Risk Management added chlorine dioxide, a chemical used in treatment systems, to the water supply at the senior facility on the former site of Memorial Stadium, and 10 two-person teams swept through individual apartments to flush out water pipes and raise the temperature on water heaters.

A water main break in southwest Baltimore County crippled train service along the Northeast corridor for most of Wednesday, and delays will continue into Thursday. Amtrak and MARC train service between Baltimore and Washington were stalled by the pre-dawn water main break in the 5100 block of Washington Blvd. in Halethorpe, affecting dozens of trains and thousands of passengers. Water, mud and tree branches covered the tracks. The major water main break was the second in two days. On Tuesday, a break blocks from the Inner Harbor flooded streets and closed offices and businesses in downtown Baltimore.

The abundance of deer around Baltimore's Loch Raven Reservoir is no mere nuisance. It has damaged the forest, wiping out habitat for other species and threatening the region's drinking water supply. Under those circumstances, limited hunting on the city-owned property is not only a reasonable but also an overdue decision. Authorities in Baltimore and Baltimore County plan to allow seasonal bowhunting on the northern portions of Loch Raven beginning in mid-September and then employ licensed professional deer hunters to conduct a closely supervised and targeted harvest of animals in the southern areas early next year.