Water

As the first heat wave hit the city mid-week, at least four schools ran out of drinking water, city school officials confirmed. The Sun received emails from around the city reporting that schools hadn't received deliveries from water companies--and for years, school water fountains have been off-limits due to contamination. City school officials confirmed that due to delivery back-ups, three schools contacted the district Thursday morning regarding their water supply: Mt. Royal Elementary/Middle, Arlington Elementary and Roland Park Elementary/Middle.

With the weekend upon us, there are events happening in the city aimed at enlisting residents in improving their neighborhoods while also cleaning up Baltimore harbor. Oh, and participants will be getting a little fresh-air exercise in the process. There's a block-by-block trash cleanup Saturday in East Baltimore from 1-3 p.m., starting at the corner of Patterson Park and Eastern Ave., ending at the square in Fells Point. Held in conjunction with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's 25th annual "Clean the Bay Day," it's organized by a Patterson Park activist.  For more, check out " Baltimore Trash Talk " on Facebook.

Unhappy over a state law requiring property owners to pay a new fee to help clean up the Chesapeake Bay, Frederick County officials have decided to set the charge at just a penny a year. The county's board of commissioners approved the 1-cent storm-water pollution control fee on Thursday, declaring they were doing even that only to avoid possible state restrictions on new development in the county if they didn't act. "We are being forced to charge this fee, so we decided to keep it at one cent just to meet the letter of the law," Blaine Young, president of the county commissioners, said in a press release announcing the action.

I want to both honor and condemn The Sun for its coverage of an issue that the average city citizen feels both perplexed and confused about. It's difficult for people to understand how they can be taxed with a Stormwater Utility Fee buried among 20 ballot questions in last year's election and then turn around and be hit with a proposed "rain tax" and a subsequent 15 percent increase proposed by the city's Department of Public Works ("Baltimore water...

As a Baltimore resident and daily subscriber to The Sun, which carries frequent stories that place in question the transparency, credibility and competence of city government, one cannot help but wonder if all or any of the water rate rises since 2000 and planned for the future have or will be necessary and beneficial to city residents who pay the bills ("Water bill whirlpool," May 22). Most recently, there have been reports on the city's misuse of federal educational grant funds ("Audit faults schools over federal funds," May 23)

A teenage boy died Monday after disappearing in the waters of Rocky Gorge Reservoir near North Laurel. The 15-year-old was swimming in the Scott's Cove area of the reservoir when bystanders on shore heard him cry for help about 4 p.m., according to the county fire department's Twitter feed. Scott's Cove is on the north side of the reservoir in southern Howard County and includes a boat ramp and recreational area. He was found in the chilly waters about three hours later, at 7:08 p.m. He was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the department.

A man's body was pulled from the water near Holiday Hill Marina in Anne Arundel County on Wednesday night, fire officials said, though a cause of death has not been announced. The fire department was called about a man in the water near the marina, in the 3900 block of Callawasse Road in Mayo, about 8:10 p.m. Upon arrival, firefighters went to pier 6, where they found and removed the body of an unidentified male from the creek. The man was pronounced dead at the scene, a county fire spokesman said.

The 7,000 households in Carroll County that receive public water from Liberty Reservoir are expected to see a slight increase in the water and sewer bills. The county is expected to adopt the new rates as part of its budget on Tuesday, May 28, said Roberta Windham, a county spokeswoman. New rates would take effect July 1. Carroll County buys water from the Baltimore Department of Public Works, which announced Monday it will seek a 15 percent increase for city water and sewer customers.

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.

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.