NEWS
By Kevin Rector, The Baltimore Sun | February 17, 2013
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.
NEWS
By Mary Gail Hare, The Baltimore Sun | November 16, 2012
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.
NEWS
November 13, 2012
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.
NEWS
By Mary Gail Hare, The Baltimore Sun | November 12, 2012
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.
NEWS
By Jessica Anderson, The Baltimore Sun | November 7, 2012
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.
NEWS
By Frederick N. Rasmussen, The Baltimore Sun | October 31, 2012
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.