Water System

It's apparent that there are many problems in Baltimore's water system as managed by the Department of Public Works. The situation in the field is way out of date, and the entire billing system should be computerized. At most other locations in the country, water districts have interior water meters with electronic exterior readouts and have had them for the past 15 to 20 years. This arrangement is accompanied by a shut-off valve on the water service lateral located at the property line at the street.

Several more people fell ill at the Johns Hopkins at Keswick campus this week, following an incident last month in which nearly two dozen employees reported dizziness, nausea and headaches. Officials have tied the previous illnesses to a hot water heater that became contaminated with nitrites when a technician accidentally inserted the chemicals into the drinking water system instead of the heating system. Overexposure to nitrites can cause a range of symptoms that include difficulty breathing.

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.

Employees who were barred from their offices on the Johns Hopkins at Keswick campus because of water contamination have been granted additional paid leave days, human resources officials said Friday. Employees in the campus' south building, which was closed two days, will get two days of added leave, said Pamela Paulk and Charlene Moore Hayes, executives for Hopkins' health system and university, in an email to employees who work at the North Baltimore office complex. "You will be able to use the two days as you wish," the human resources officials said.

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 county is applying for grants and loans to try to take charge ofthe Pleasant Valley water system.The system, owned by Viola Leister, serves about 50 households, said K. Marlene Conaway, assistant director of the county Planning Department.The county is taking over ownership of the system at the request of residents and Leister, Conaway said.The county is applying forstate and federal grants and loans of about $500,000, said Steven D.Powell, director of management and budget.The county also is looking into whether a central sewer system should be installed in Pleasant Valley, Conaway said.

Two leaks in Manchester's water system -- releasing about 15,000 gallons a day -- have been discovered by the town's public works crews.The leaks are partly responsible for the town's sudden increase in water use, said Steven L. Miller, director of Manchester's Department of Public Works and Parks. He said his department will patch the leaks and search for others."We think we still have one or maybe two more. If we could find them we'd feel a lot better," he said.Water use during the past three months has risen by 3 million gallons, Miller said.

Howard County Executive Charles I. Ecker and County Councilman Charles C. Feaga agree that residents near a west county trash dump should get some help in hooking up to the county water system.But how much help was debated again at a County Council meeting Tuesday night that drew about 25 citizens concerned about well water near the Alpha Ridge Landfill.The county has spent $10.5 million on a water system in the area, and there have been no verifiable instances of toxic chemicals spreading to the wells.

Union Bridge will go to the state well once again and ask for help to renovate its aging water system.Several months ago, the one-well town learned that its applications for $900,000 in grants from three different sources -- Farmers Home Bank, Community Development Block Grant and Maryland Department of the Environment -- had been turned down.Brenda Dinne, county planning liaison to New Windsor and Union Bridge, said at last night's Town Council meeting that the town might have a better chance by asking for a "scaled-down version of what needs to be done."

A four-year county construction program will mean cleaner drinking water and better water pressure for Brooklyn Park residents -- at a price.The county Department of Public Works announced Friday an $8 million project to repair about 23 miles of water lines owned by Baltimore. The old water system extends along both sides of Ritchie Highway from the city line south to Walton Avenue.Beginning in the fall, public works crews will drill beneath local streets and clean the clogged, 60-year-old lines, which serve about 3,100 households and businesses in Brooklyn Park.

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.

Madison Street reopened to traffic about 3 p.m. Friday, four days after a 30-inch pipe ruptured, causing parts of the roadway to buckle and sending water gushing down Guilford Avenue as well as the Fallsway. Businesses and institutions in a 12- to 14-block area either lost water altogether or saw pressure drop, including Mercy Medical Center, Our Daily Bread and Center Stage . The street was shut down between Calvert Street and Guilford Avenue while crews repaired the pipe and the ensuing damage.

WEATHER: Showers, with a high near 52 . Tonight is expected to be mostly clear, low around 38. TRAFFIC: Check our traffic updates for this morning's issues. TOP NEWS Voice of Elmo leaves 'Sesame Street' after underage sex accusations : Baltimore-born Kevin Clash, the voice of Elmo, is taking a leave of absence from the show in the aftermath of allegations that he had sex with an underage boy, which surfaced Monday on the website TMZ. Infrastructure issues continue with 2 mo re water main breaks : For the second time in six days, Baltimore's aging water system ruptured, affecting service to dozens while snarling traffic and providing yet another unpleasant reminder of the region's crumbling infrastructure.

For the second time in six days, Baltimore's aging water system ruptured, affecting service to dozens of businesses and homes downtown and in Essex, including two hospitals, while snarling traffic and providing yet another unpleasant reminder of the region's crumbling infrastructure. A 30-inch pipe downtown at East Madison Street near Guilford Avenue broke shortly before 8 a.m. and sent water gushing down Guilford as well as the Fallsway. Businesses and institutions in a 12- to 14-block area either lost water altogether or saw pressure drop, including Mercy Medical Center, Our Daily Bread and Center Stage . As crews labored to restore water pressure to most buildings in that area, a 16-inch pipe broke late in the morning on Philadelphia Road near Rossville Boulevard, affecting water service to Essex businesses and homes, including MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center and the Community College of Baltimore County's Essex campus.

After another city water main break caused fast-moving water to rush down Charles Street on Wednesday, officials defended plans to spend millions to upgrade Baltimore's aging public water system. The broken pipe at North Charles and East 20th streets, just above North Avenue, marks the latest water main failure, causing road closures and headaches. "It's big and it's bad, and we need more money for water infrastructure," Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said of the break. Fixing the city's infrastructure problems may not be a primary concern for most residents, she said, but it's important work.

Dr. H. Berton McCauley, former chief of the dental division of the Baltimore Health Department, who led the controversial battle that resulted in the city's water supply being fluoridated nearly 60 years ago, died Oct. 23 of prostate cancer at his Hadley Square home. He was 98. "He made the biggest public health impact with the fluoridation of Baltimore's drinking water. And think of all the kids it benefited," said Christian S. Stohler, dean of the University of Maryland School of Dentistry.

County and municipal leaders are moving forward with a partnership that would establish one regional water system and consolidate the myriad facilities that now supply Harford's homes and businesses. County Executive David R. Craig, with support from the mayors of the three municipalities, will seek a $300,000 state grant to fund a consultant's study of the regional water supply. The research will focus on benefits, costs and drawbacks to joining the systems under one authority. Pooled resources will maximize the assets and save on operations and maintenance costs, officials said.

Baltimore's scenic reservoirs could be transformed into lakes criss-crossed by rowboats as the city removes them from the water supply to comply with a federal health mandate. To meet the 2006 federal water safety rule to protect drinking water from contaminants, the city is spending tens of millions of dollars to install underground tanks to replace the reservoirs. The Department of Public Works will fill its small reservoir in Guilford to install tanks there, but other reservoirs will be decommissioned by 2018 and could become places for recreation.

The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore has paid the majority of its $130,000 overdue water bill, city records show. Jane Ballentine, a spokeswoman for the zoo, alerted The Sun to the payment this weekend. "The checks have cleared, so we consider the water bill to be paid and our account current," she wrote in an email. City records show the zoo paid about $124,000 of the bill, and owes about $6,000. The zoo's overdue bill dated back to 2011 and officials said the non-profit, which receives funding from the state and city, had set up a payment plan with the city.