Showing posts with label Westminster PW Water Sewer qv Water. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Westminster PW Water Sewer qv Water. Show all posts

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Westminster Eagle: Water, sewage rates will be subject of upcoming Westminster city meeting


Westminster Eagle: Water, sewage rates will be subject of upcoming Westminster city meeting

Labels and related:
Water and Sewer Westminster, Water and Sewer Westminster Rates and Fees, Westminster Dept Public Works Water and Sewer

Wednesday, December 12, 2007:
20071126 Municipal and Financial Services Group Westminster Water and Wastewater Rate and Fee Study presentation

20080728 Westminster Mayor and Common Council Agenda for July 28 2008

Water, sewage rates will be subject of city meeting

Officials say new structure is needed for more accurate billing

Posted on the Westminster Eagle web site 7/23/08


A new structure for water and sewer rates for the City of Westminster will be unveiled and discussed at the Monday, July 28, meeting of the mayor and Common Council.

The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at the John Street Quarters of the Westminster Fire Department. Council meetings are usually held in city hall, but are often moved to the John Street building to accommodate larger crowds.

Since the fall of last year, the city has been conducting a study to revise its water and sewer rates.

During the budget review process, city officials warned that a new structure is needed to accurately bill for water usage and update the city's water service rates.

At the July 28 meeting, officials are expected to unveil a study on the matter, and also accept comments on the proposed rates. For more information call 410-848-9000.


http://www.explorecarroll.com/news/343/water-rates-will-be-subject-city-meeting/


20080723 Westminster Eagle: Water, sewage rates will be subject of upcoming Westminster city meeting

Monday, July 21, 2008

Meeting to address water and sewage rate structure by Bryan Schutt for the Carroll County Times

Meeting to address water and sewage rate structure by Bryan Schutt for the Carroll County Times

Meeting to address water and sewage rate structure

By Bryan Schutt, Times Staff Writer

Monday, July 21, 2008

A water and sewage rate structure study will likely show the need for Westminster to raise its water rates and correct deficiencies in the current billing structure, according to several city officials.

The study, which was started last winter by Municipal and Financial Services Group, will be unveiled during the July 28 meeting of the mayor and Common Council. The meeting will not be a public hearing and the rate structure will not be set then, but residents will have the chance to voice their concerns or thoughts on the study.

Although the city has not made the study available to the public, Mayor Thomas Ferguson said the current rate structure is essentially upside down and the city is generating insufficient reserves from the current billing system.

He said the rate structure, which has been in place for decades, basically has a quantity discount, which is one point the study examines.

Another area that he believes the study will address is the rate structure and financial risks involved for residents in and outside of city limits. Currently, people out of the city limits pay slightly higher water rates, the mayor said.

[…]

Reach staff writer Bryan Schutt at 410-857-7886 or
bryan.schutt@carrollcountytimes.com.

If you go

What: Second monthly meeting of the mayor and Common Council

Why: To discuss the water and sewer rate structure study

Where: John Street Quarters of the Westminster Fire Hall, 28 John St.

When: 7 p.m. July 28

Information: City Hall, 410-848-9000


Read the rest here:
Meeting to address water and sewage rate structure

20080721 Meeting to address water and sewage rate structure by Bryan Schutt for the Carroll County Times

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

20071126 Municipal and Financial Services Group Westminster Water and Wastewater Rate and Fee Study presentation



Municipal and Financial Services Group Westminster Water and Wastewater Rate and Fee Study presentation

November 26, 2007 - Municipal and Financial Services Group Westminster Water and Wastewater Rate and Fee Study presentation

Presentation to the Westminster mayor and common council on November 26, 2007 by Edward J. Donahue III, CMC


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2pX2lmraZI



City of Westminster

Water and Wastewater Rate and Fee Study

Agenda

Project Team

Project Understanding and Approach

Policy Issues

Firm Profile

Specialized Financial and Management Consulting Practice
Focus on Municipal and Environmental Infrastructure
Efficient Delivery of Public Sector Services
National Practice Since 1976
Part of National CPA/Engineering Firms for 25 Years
Maryland-Based
Established as an Independent, Women-Owned Firm in 2002
Previous Clients Range from Very Large (Boston, New York, Washington, DC, Chicago, San Francisco) to Very Small (Marydel, Queen Anne’s County, Bramble Hills, North Slope Borough)
Clients Serve 45% of Nation’s Population

Project Team Synergy
Complementary Blend of Functional Skills
Broad Industry Experience
Seamless Service Delivery for Clients

Project Organization
Project Team Skills
Agenda

Project Team

Project Understanding and Approach

Policy Issues

Project Fundamentals

OBJECTIVES
Long-Term Financial Security and Stability
Lowest Rates Over Time (Optimal Management of Assets)
Equitable Rate Design
Rational and Defensible Basis for all Rates and Fees

Custom Tailored Financial Model
Model tied to official documents
Operating Budgets
Capital Improvement Plan

Can produce cost of service on multiple bases
Cash
Utility
Hybrid(s)

Easy/quick updates and iterations

Inexpensive feasibility studies for revenue bond issues

Project Work Plan/Schedule/Deliverables
Agenda
Preliminary Policy Issues

Lowest Lifecycle Cost

Paying for Growth

Existence / Adequacy of Reserves

Rate Design

Policy Issue: Lifecycle Cost

Assumption – City wants lowest total capital and operating costs for its utilities over their useful lives

Requirement: Adequate funding of maintenance to make facilities last as long as practicable – use of Asset Management approach to maintenance

Impact: Possibility of slightly higher rates now to assure lower rates in the long run

Policy Issue: Paying for Growth

Assumption - City does not want rates for existing customers to be impacted by growth

Requirement - Segregation of capital costs into growth / non-growth categories, then determination of capital cost recovery fees based on growth-related capital costs

Impact - Possible adjustment of capacity fees / connection fees; increase in user fees if growth does not occur as planned

Policy Issue: Financial Reserves
Purposes for Reserves
Insurance against unexpected events
Reduce borrowings
Smooth out rate increases
Designation of formal restriction on fund balance

Operating Reserve
Typically 90 days of operating cash (PSC provision for investor-owned utilities)

Repair / Renewal / Rehabilitation Reserve
Regular contribution towards cost of renewing long-lived assets
Annual contribution on formulaic basis

Policies on spending approvals

Policy Issue: Rate Design
Rate Structure
Fixed vs. Variable
Discounts for selected customer classes

Drought Rates

Inside-City / Outside-City Differential

Fund Balance

Transfers to / from General Fund
Reimbursement for services provided
Payment in Lieu of Taxes

Frequency of Rate Adjustments

####


Water and Sewer Westminster, Westminster Council Meeting Agenda, Westminster Dept Public Works, Westminster Dept Public Works Water and Sewer, Water and Sewer Westminster Rates and Fees

20071126 Municipal and Financial Services Group Westminster Water and Wastewater Rate and Fee Study presentation

Monday, November 26, 2007

20071126 Westminster Mayor and Common Council Meeting

20071126 Westminster Mayor and Common Council Meeting

City Council

City Council Members Minutes of City Council Meetings

CITY OF WESTMINSTER, MARYLAND

Mayor and Common Council Meeting of November 26, 2007

AGENDA

1. CALL TO ORDER – 7:00 P.M.

Fallfest Check Presentations

Water Sewer Rate Structure Presentation

2. CONSENT CALENDAR

October Departmental Operating Reports

3. BIDS

Recommendation to accept Bid from Seal Analytical for a

Discrete Analyzer for the Wastewater Treatment Plant

4. REPORTS FROM THE MAYOR

5. REPORTS FROM STANDING COMMITTEES

6. ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS

a. Resolution R-07-13 regarding Extension of Time for Final Action

on Sectional Map Amendment No. 07-1

b. Ordinance 772 Historic Tax Credits Amendment

7. UNFINISHED BUSINESS

a. Revised Carroll Cable Regulatory Commission Agreement

8. NEW BUSINESS:

a. Brightview of Westminster, LLC – Deed of Easement and Deed of

Relinquishment

9. DEPARTMENT REPORTS

10 CITIZEN COMMENTS

11. ADJOURN

This Meeting will be held at the John Street Quarters of the Westminster Fire Company,

28 John Street, Westminster, MD. Free parking is available.

Thursday, July 12, 2007

20070709 Water Expert Jeff Glass: Water restrictions only weeks away


Water Expert Jeff Glass: Water restrictions only weeks away

Drought and water issues persist

July 11th, 2007

Westminster’s Acting Public Works Director Jeff Glass told Channel 2’s Jeff Hager last Monday that perhaps “sooner than the next two weeks our drought management plan will be such that we've hit the triggers to cause us to go to code yellow at that point, and that's voluntary restrictions.

_____

What is amazing to me is that in spite of all the media attention to Westminster’s water challenges in the last 6 years, one can still travel about Westminster on a hot day and see folks watering their yards.

Now I made a living as a landscaper and nursery stock farmer for twenty-five years and I understand the value of plants and landscaping as much as the next person – but a green lawn is not more important that people and adequate supplies of drinking water is a basic health, safety, and welfare matter.

So I guess what folks who are watering their lawns are callously communicating is that their lawn is more important than the health, safety and welfare of their friends, neighbors, loved ones, family and fellow city residents…

Anyway, Channel 2 ran the story last Monday, July 9th, 2007, on the purchase of Hyde’s Quarry and the current lack of rainfall. Try as I might, I could not find the video on their web site. Nevertheless, Channel 2 said, in part:

July 9, 2007 8:29 PM Water Restriction For Westminster Weeks Away

http://www.abc2news.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=B5FB8B71-6426-43DA-B554-226A9F191FB1&gsa=true


Posted By: jeff hager

The experts believe this quarry due west of Westminster may hold as much as 150 million gallons of water, but tapping into it may be years away.

[…]


And that recurring problem will prompt the city to call upon its residents to cut back in just a matter of weeks, according to Acting Public Works Director Jeff Glass. "I'd say that sooner than the next two weeks our drought management plan will be such that we've hit the triggers to cause us to go to code yellow at that point, and that's voluntary restrictions."


[…]


In a matter of weeks, Westminster residents will be asked to cut back on watering their lawns, washing their cars and to adopt other conservation measures to keep the restrictions from becoming mandatory.

####

Friday, April 6, 2007

20070404 Text of the consent agreement between Westminster Maryland and Maryland Department of the Environment

20070404 Text of the consent agreement between Westminster Maryland and Maryland Department of the Environment

(For other posts on "Soundtrack" - www.kevindayhoff.net about Westminster and Carroll County water and sewer issues click on: "Water and Sewer.")

Text of the consent agreement between he City of Westminster, Carroll County Maryland and the Maryland Department of the Environment

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

STATE OF MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT

1800 Washington Boulevard Baltimore, Maryland 21230

SECRETARY OF THE ENVIRONMENT

WATER MANAGEMENT ADMINISTRATION

v.

THE MAYOR AND COMMON COUNCIL OF WESTMINSTER *

PO Box 710 *

Westminster, Maryland 21158 * *

CONSENT ORDER


This Consent Order is entered into between the State of Maryland, Department of the Environment ("MDE" or "Department"), pursuant to the powers, duties, and responsibilities vested in and imposed upon the Secretary of the Environment by Title 1, Title 5, Subtitle 5, and Title 9, Subtitles 2 and 5 of the Environment Article, Annotated Code of Maryland, as delegated to the Director of the Water Management Administration (the "Administration") and The Mayor and Common Council of Westminster, ("City") regarding the provision of a safe and adequate water supply for the City and surrounding areas in Carroll County dependant on the City’s water supply.

WHEREAS, the City owns and operates two Water Supply Systems ("Water Supply Systems") serving the City of Westminster and portions of Carroll County, Maryland. They are known as the Cranberry and Wakefield Valley Water Systems. These water systems, under drought conditions, are not sufficient to serve all existing connections and all properties that have been issued building permits. During the drought of 2002, the City enacted mandatory water restrictions, trucked in water to serve existing users and connections, and violated a condition of one of its water appropriation permits requiring the City to cease withdrawals at certain locations when stream flow is below minimum levels. As a result of this water supply inadequacy, there was a moratorium on the issuance of new building permits and approval of subdivision plats for properties that would be served by the City’s water systems; and

WHEREAS, the City is taking certain measures to bridge the gap between its water supply demand during drought conditions, including utilizing water from Medford Quarry,

employing water restrictions as an interim measure, and developing plans to reduce water losses and increase water conservation. The City is also preparing a plan to appropriately manage and allocate its water resources. To address the City’s long-term water needs to supply water for new growth, the City is investigating the feasibility of alternative sources and preparing a plan to bring one or more of these alternatives to fruition. The purpose of this Consent Order is to allow the City to meet its existing water needs while remedial measures are being developed and put on-line, accommodate a limited amount of interim growth and establish an effective system for managing future capacity in accordance with MDE guidelines.

Regulatory Scheme

WHEREAS, the General Assembly has enacted a comprehensive permitting and regulatory scheme governing the provision of safe and adequate drinking water to the citizens of Maryland; and

WHEREAS, the Secretary of the Department is charged with the responsibility for regulating the operation of Water Supply Systems in a manner that will protect the public health and comfort, and for enforcing State Laws regarding corrections to public Water Supply Systems or the operations of such systems in order to abate risks to the public health or comfort; and

WHEREAS, Title 1, Subtitle 3, of the Environment Article authorizes the Secretary of the Environment to carry out the statutes and regulations promulgated under the Article; and WHEREAS, under Title 9, Subtitle 2, of the Environment Article, MDE is responsible for overseeing and assuring the adequacy of Water Supply Systems; and

WHEREAS, Section 9-252 of the Environment Article provides that the Secretary may require any public water system "to be operated in a manner that will protect public health and comfort" and that the Secretary "has supervision and control over the sanitary and physical condition of the waters of this State to protect public health and comfort"; and

WHEREAS, under Section 9-206 of the Environment Article, land platted for subdivision may not be sold unless a plat has been submitted to the Department or to a delegated local authority, which includes a statement of the methods, consistent with title 9, Subtitle 5, by which the subdivision is to be supplied with water; and

WHEREAS, Section 9-222 of the Environment Article provides that, where the absence or incompleteness of a system operated by a political subdivision is prejudicial to the public health or comfort, the Secretary may order the political subdivision to install, alter, extend, utilize, operate or complete a water supply system; and

WHEREAS, under Section 9-512(b) of the Environment Article, the local authority has the responsibility not to issue building permits unless, taking into consideration all existing and approved development in the service area, the water system is adequate to serve the proposed development; and

WHEREAS, under Section 9-512(d) of the Environment Article, a subdivision plat may not be approved unless the water supply system would be completed in time to serve the proposed development and would be adequate to serve the proposed development once completed; and

WHEREAS, an adequate water supply system is one that is capable of meeting its average demand and its maximum demand under drought conditions. A water system’s capacity is determined by evaluating the ability of the sources and treatment facilities to produce water under drought conditions while taking into account the water sources, water storage, and water appropriation and use permit limits. A water system’s demand is determined from past usage patterns and the characteristics of the user community, including residential, commercial and industrial use. The projection of future growth is used to establish demand for future years. Demands under drought conditions are determined for average daily annual usage, average daily usage during the month of maximum use, and maximum day.

Factual Background

WHEREAS, the City’s Water Supply Systems are public water systems that are supplying water to apartments, businesses, churches, public facilities, residences and schools located within the City and portions of Carroll County, Maryland; and

WHEREAS, the City’s Water Supply Systems serve a population of approximately 33,000 located in Carroll County, Maryland. The City maintains 6.9 million gallons of available storage of treated water and owns and operates a series of eleven (11) wells and stream intake structures (on Cranberry Branch and West Branch (Hull Creek)); conveyance systems; a raw water reservoir; water treatment and pumping facilities; and a distribution system that includes water mains, fire hydrants, and water meters; and

WHEREAS, pursuant to nine separate water appropriation and use permits, the City is authorized to withdraw 1.476 mgd as an annual average from the City’s eleven (11) production wells. Pursuant to Water Appropriation and Use Permit CL1957S002(06), the City is authorized to withdraw 2 mgd as an annual average from Cranberry Branch and West Branch as long as the. stream flow is greater than 0.3 cubic feet per second (cfs) below the intake on Cranberry Branch and greater than 0.55 cfs in the West Branch; and

WHEREAS, as reflected in Table 1 below, an analysis of the safe yield of the Water Supply Systems under drought of record conditions revealed a total capacity of 2.229 mgd as an annual average, with 1.18 mgd from the City’s eleven production wells and 1.05 mgd from the two surface water sources;

WHEREAS, the annual average drought year demand, including the demand from all permitted but not yet connected users as of December 31, 2006 is 2.996 mgd, producing an estimated average annual drought year deficit of 0.767 mgd ("Drought Year Deficit"); and

WHEREAS, the City and MDE evaluated the capacity of the City’s sources to meet the average annual system demand during non-drought conditions. Well 11 was not included in this analysis as it does not have a permanent connection and would not be used during an average hydrologic year.

MDE’s analysis of the City’s production data showed that the average year capacity under non-drought conditions, as shown in Table 1, was 2.992 mgd; and

WHEREAS, the City determined that the average year demand under non-drought conditions (equivalent to a drought year demand with water restrictions in place) including the demand from all building permits issued prior to December 31, 2006, but not yet connected to the water system, is 2.853 mgd (also shown in Table 1), which represents a surplus of 139,000 gpd under average hydrologic conditions; and

WHEREAS, in order to address their drought year water shortages, the City applied for an emergency appropriation of 1.08 mgd on any single day from Medford Quarry during 2002 and again in 2005. MDE authorized temporary emergency withdrawals of 1.08 mgd for any one

day in 2002 and 2005 via Permits CL2002S042(01) and CL2005S028(O1). The annual average reported water uses were 0.15 mgd and 0.267 mgd in 2002 and 2005, respectively. In order to obtain a permanent emergency back up source of supply, the City secured an agreement with the owner of Medford Quarry in June of 2005; and

WHEREAS, after the Department completed its review of all the relevant information available and taking into account the amount of land owned by the Quarry, the Department issued a Water Appropriation and Use Permit (No. CL2002S042(02)) in June of 2006 to the City for up to 0.5 mad from the Quarry as a maximum daily amount. The use was permitted as a back up supply to the City’s other surface water withdrawals from Cranberry Run and West Branch (Hull Creek) to help address the existing deficit and not to support any new development; and

WHEREAS, in accordance with § 9-512(d) and after meeting with the Department and the City in June 2006, the Carroll County Environmental Health Department stopped signing record plats in July 2006 as the City had not demonstrated that its water system would be adequate to serve additional connections; and

WHEREAS, after reviewing the City’s final Capacity Management Plan, MDE directed the Carroll County Environmental Health Department in September 2006 to no longer approve building permits that would result in a net increase in water demand on the City’s water system; d.

WHEREAS, according to the City’s Water Supply Capacity Management Plan, dated August 2006, the City’s unaccounted for water was as high as 24% of the total water delivered from the City’s water sources. Water loss could include authorized unmetered water usage, water leakage, meter errors, unauthorized use or billing errors.

Recent Actions Taken by the City to Improve System Capacity

WHEREAS, the City has taken the following steps to improve the system capacity and cover the Drought Year Deficit:

a. Secured engineering services for the design and permitting of a pipeline from Medford Quarry to Cranberry Reservoir;

Submitted a revised application for funding (low interest loan) to MDE to begin construction of the said pipeline and received an award of $6.5 million;

c. Made an application to withdraw 2.0 mgd as an annual average from Big Pipe Creek in May 2006;

d. Submitted in January 2007 an application to increase its appropriation from Medford Quarry to 1 mgd during the month of maximum use and 250,000 gpd as an annual average;

e. Submitted an application in December 2006 to withdraw water from Hydes Quarry as a back-up source for Little Pipe Creek. The total average annual withdrawal request for these sources is approximately 1 mgd;

f. Submitted an application in December 2006 to withdraw water from Little Pipe Creek initially as a back-up source to increase operational flexibility but then, if and when the Hydes Quarry withdrawal is permitted and connected to the Water Supply Systems, to provide an additional water source;

g. Evaluated the benefit of increasing the size of Cranberry Reservoir on the safe yield of the water system. Other sites for additional storage are also being evaluated to provide raw water storage;

h. Issued a Request for Proposal of Engineering Services to design a water treatment system for the Koontz Creamery Well. Alternatives being evaluated are direct treatment and use and pumping the well to the Cranberry Reservoir via pipeline;

i. Negotiating easements for a permanent connection for Roops Mill Well #11. Design is at 85% completion;

j. Contracted for installation of ion exchange treatment for nitrate removal at Vo¬Tech well with a Spring 2007 completion date;

k. Hired staff to review water billing to determine what portion of the 24% unaccounted for water may be due to accounting and billing errors; and

l. Participated in forming a task force with the County to evaluate and implement joint solutions to the water capacity problem.

m. Drafted amendment to the City’s portion of the Carroll County Water and Sewer Plan which describes the means and methods by which the City is addressing the Drought Year Deficit and what sources of additional water sources the City is considering to meet its future water needs.

NOW, THEREFORE, it is this (blank) day of (blank), 2007, pursuant to Sections 9-252,9-220, 9-221, 9-222, 9-268, and 9-335, AGREED between the Water Management Administration and the City of Westminster and ORDERED by the Director of the Water Management Administration that:

1. The City shall complete its technical study and meet all other regulatory requirements in support of its application to withdraw additional water from Medford Quarry and submit the completed application to MDE by November 1, 2007.

2. Within sixty (60) days of MDE’s decision on the Medford Quarry application, the City shall submit to MDE a final plan and schedule to complete all phases of projects necessary to eliminate the Drought Year Deficit. If the Medford Quarry source, as permitted, does not completely satisfy the Drought Year Deficit, the City shall apply toward the deficit all demonstrated reductions in unaccounted for water due to repairing leaks until the deficit is fully addressed. If, after considering the Medford Quarry permit and reductions in water loss, other projects are needed to fully address the Drought Year Deficit, the City shall complete all water use and appropriation applications for such projects within six months of MDE’s Medford Quarry decision.

3. The City shall complete its evaluation of the sources of unaccounted for water and submit a Water Loss Reduction Plan by June 30, 2007. The evaluation shall be submitted to MDE for review and comment.

a. The evaluation shall identify the average daily quantity and percentage of unaccounted for water believed to be due to:

i. leaks in the water distribution system;

ii. accounting errors;

iii. faulty/under reading customer meters or other meter errors;

iv. unmetered usage;

v. fire fighting;

vi. theft; and

vii. unknown sources;

b. The evaluation shall justify the estimates provided in subparagraph a above. Range of estimates shall be provided as dictated by available data; and

c. The Water Loss Reduction Plan shall identify those actions necessary to achieve a goal often (10) percent (%) or less unaccounted for water loss by 2012. The plan shall include to a description of capital improvement projects needed to correct significant leaks in the water supply system’s infrastructure. The plan shall include methods to comprehensively review the system to identify potential leaks no less than three times per year. The City shall annually submit a water audit following MDE guidelines and report on progress for implementing its plan by February 15 of each year for the preceding year.

4. By June 15, 2007, the City shall develop a Water Conservation Plan to promote the wise use of water to reduce excessive water usage. The Water Conservation Plan shall be submitted to MDE for review and comment. The Water Conservation Plan shall address the following:

a. Recommend changes to City Ordinance to promote establishing conservation measures, such as prohibiting outdoor lawn watering during certain daytime hours, establishing odd/even days for outdoor watering, granting incentives for planting new developments with drought tolerant grasses and using stormwater for outdoor watering;

b. Consider further replacement/rebate programs to promote greater use of low-flow fixtures;

c. Establishing a public education and outreach campaign;

d. Conduct water audits of the largest water users; and

e. By February 15 of each year, the City shall annually report on water conservation activities.

5. MDE agrees to review and make timely comments on all plans and reports submitted by the City.

6. Upon signing this Consent Order, the City shall be granted 60,000 gpd as an annual average to allocate in accordance with an Interim Allocation Plan, which the City will develop within 30 days from the date of this Consent Order. A copy of said interim Allocation Plan will be provided to MDE for its records.

7. MDE shall permit the City to maintain a flow-by of 0.2 cfs for Cranberry Branch and 0.37 cfs for West Branch as long as mandatory water restrictions are in place and until the project constructing the water line from Medford Quarry to the Cranberry Reservoir is complete.

The City shall conduct stream surveys/biological assessments of Cranberry Branch and West Branch in accordance with procedures contained in the 2001 Maryland Biological Stream Survey (MBSS) Sampling Manual. The surveys/assessments shall be made upstream and downstream of each intake site, with the locations proposed by the City and approved by MDE. Sampling of water quality and benthic macroinvertebrates shall be completed during the Spring Index Period (March 1 to May l, 2007). Sampling of fish and herptofauna and evaluation of stream physical habitats shall be conducted during the Summer Index Period (June 1 to September 30). The City shall submit a comprehensive plan to conduct such monitoring by April 1, 2007 and a final report by December 31, 2007.

8. By June 30, 2007, the City shall have in place the contract(s) necessary to haul a sufficient quantity of water equal to the difference between a system demand of 2.992 mgd and a drought of record year capacity newly calculated to account for the adjustment of the flow-by for Cranberry Branch and West Branch under paragraph 7 of this Consent Order. The City shall submit the revised mass flow analysis at the lower flow-bys along with copy of contract(s) by June 30, 2007.

9. By July 1, 2007, the City shall complete all permit applications needed to make a permanent connection of Well 11. Within 30 days of receiving all permits and completing easement negotiations, the City shall advertise the project for construction. The City shall provide a -schedule to MDE for the permanent connection of Well 11 and report to MDE when this well is permanently connected to the system.

10. By March 1, 2008 the City shall submit an updated Capacity Management Plan to MDE for review and approval. The Capacity Management Plan shall be consistent with MDE’s Guidance Document (2006). The Capacity Management Plan shall describe in detail how the City will manage its existing and future water commitments, the criteria it will use for distributing future flow allocations, and how it will limit the issuance of building permits and approval of subdivision plats so as not to exceed the capacity of the water supply system. The City shall implement the approved plan.

11. By April 1, 2008 the City shall submit a plan and schedule to ensure that the Water Supply Systems have sufficient capacity to meet all existing demand and demand for future planned growth under drought of record conditions. The plan shall also provide for a water reserve capacity to ensure no water deficit in the future.

12. Upon MDE’s approval of the City’s plan and schedule, the Department will issue notice to the City allowing it to allocate the remaining 79,000 gpd (of the 139,000 gpd surplus under average hydrologic conditions) as an annual average if the following conditions are met:

a. The City has received all approvals needed to construct the emergency pipelines from Medford Quarry and is on schedule with construction of this conveyance system (see paragraph 2 above);

b. The City has entered into all contracts necessary to complete the connection of Well 11 and has begun construction of the connection; and

c. The City is in compliance with all other conditions of this Consent Order.

13. The City shall implement water use restrictions, both voluntary and mandatory, d shall haul water from an approved source in accordance with the City’s Drought Management Plan dated July 24, 2006, until all of the projects needed to eliminate the drought year deficit and supply the 139,000 gpd authorized by this Consent Order are completed.

14. MDE reserves the right to require measures to make habitat improvements, revise flow-by conditions (see paragraph 7) or revise contract hauling requirements (see paragraph 8) based on the stream surveys and biological assessments provided under paragraph 7 of this Consent Order.

15. The City waives any right it may have to request a contested case hearing concerning the terms of this Consent Order.

16. Nothing in this Consent Order shall be construed to limit any authority of the Administration to issue any orders, enforce any applicable permits, or to take any action it deems necessary to protect the public health or comfort, or to limit any authority the Administration has or may hereafter be delegated. Any delays in meeting the requirements of this Consent Order, whether justified or not, may result in termination of this Consent Order at the discretion of the Administration. Subject to the two preceding sentences and any amendment of this Consent Order, this Consent Order shall be in effect until the City’s long-term measures to ensure an adequate water supply come are completed.

17. The provisions of the Consent Order shall apply to and be binding upon the City of Westminster.

18. It is the intent of the parties that the provisions of this Consent Order are severable and that, should any provisions by declared by a court of law to be invalid or unenforceable, the other provisions shall remain in effect to the maximum extent reasonable.

19. This Consent Order shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Maryland.

IT IS SO AGREED AND CONSENTED TO:

Date Virginia Kearney, Acting Director Water Management Administration

Date

The Mayor and Common Council of Westminster by

Thomas K. Ferguson, Mayor

Approved as to form and legal sufficiency This (blank) day of (blank), 2007.

Adam Snyder

Assistant Attorney General

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

20070328 Westminster to sign water agreement with MDE

Westminster to sign water agreement with MDE

March 28th, 2007

Kelsey Volkmann writing for the Baltimore Examiner reports that the City of Westminster and the Maryland Department of the Environment have come to an agreement “an agreement on how much water there is in Westminster’s system and how much water is expected to be after Westminster completes the improvements we have been talking about doing,” Council Member Gregory Pecoraro said.”

The article dated today, March 28th, 2007 can be found here: “Building can soon begin again in Westminster.”

####

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

20060926 City of Westminster, Carroll County Maryland Drinking Water Supply Capacity Management Plan

20060926 City of Westminster, Carroll County Maryland Drinking Water Supply Capacity Management Plan

September 26, 2006

City of Westminster

Drinking Water Supply Capacity Management Plan


______

Objectives

MDE requirements for Water Supply Capacity Management Plan

Water System Reliable Capacity

Projected Water Demand

Historical Water Supply Investigations

Solutions to Drought of Record Water Deficit

Impact of 2002 Drought On MDE Policies

• As a result of the drought, MDE developed “Final Water Supply Capacity Management Plan (WSCMP) Guidance Manual” published in July 2006

GUIDANCE DOCUMENT WATER SUPPLY CAPACITY MANAGEMENT PLANS

• MDE requires municipalities to complete and submit a WSCMP if they meet one of several triggers:

• Recommends every community over 5,000 gpd prepare a WSCMP

• Water system operating at 80% or more of design capacity

• Request an expansion

• Request modification to Water Appropriation Permit

• Operating subject to a consent order with MDE or EPA

Components of WSCMP Components of WSCMP

A WSCMP requires the following information:

• Reliable capacity of the existing water system components

• Ground Water Supply (11 wells)

• Surface Water Supply (2 water intakes)

• Water treatment plants (2 plants)

• Water distribution system including fire control, etc.

• Existing and future water demand based on population projections and development

• Determination of the water supply excess or deficit

_____

City of Westminster’s Water System Existing System

• 115-MG Raw Water Reservoir

• Permitted Surface & Ground Water Supplies = 3.48 mgd

• Water Treatment Plant Capacity = 3.25 mgd

• Finished Water Storage – Total 6.9 mgd

Reliable Capacity under “Drought of Record”

• Ground Water = 1.18 mgd (historical records)

• Surface Water = 1.05 mgd (flow mass analysis)

• Total Reliable Capacity = 2.23 mgd

_____

Historical Water Supply Investigations

• Early 1980s: R.E. Wright performed extensive hydrogeological evaluations

• Initial investigations indicated 12 – 14 million gallons per day of ground water available

• 1985 - 2006:

• Drilled recommended sites with mixed success

• Existing Wells No. 3 – 11 based on recommendations; typically 4 test wells at each site prior to locating water source

• Well 11 in final design stages

• Windemere – no water source located

• Pools Meadow – no water source located

• 1985 – 1987: Investigated Hydes Quarry

• 2002: Medford Quarry Emergency Water Source, Connected Wakefield to main system

• 2003: Hoff Nagana Test Wells (developer’s expense, no water available), Proposed reuse water for golf course irrigation (owner not interested)

• 2004:

• Cranberry WTP Upgrade to improve reliable treatment of poorer water quality

• Evaluation of Raw Water Reservoir Expansion by raising water level

• Evaluation of Raw Water Reservoir through purchase of land

• 2005: Evaluation of Little Pipe Creek

_____

Water Supply Alternatives

On-Going Solutions

Medford Quarry (0.5 mgd)

• Design change to pump to existing Cranberry Reservoir

• Reliable capacity = 0.5 mgd

• Anticipated start of construction July 2007

• Expansion of 115 Million Gallon Raw Water Reservoir

• Final negotiations under way

• Currently under evaluation

• Anticipated reliable capacity = 0.4 mgd

• Koontz Creamery

• Currently requesting proposals

• Anticipated reliable capacity = 0.3 mgd

Water Supply Alternatives - Additional Solutions

• Little Pipe Creek

• Currently in permitting phase

• Roops Mills Well Connection

• Currently at 85% of design

• Working through easements

• Anticipated start of construction Spring 2007

• Water Conservation Plan

• Educational programs under development

• Developing public awareness programs

• Water saving incentive programs under development

• Big Pipe Creek

• Submitted water appropriation permit

• Evaluation is underway

####

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

20060517 Tentacle Column Water Wars

Tentacle Column Water Wars

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

My latest column for The Tentacle has been posted: The Water Wars Are Heating Up

“The increasing problems over water availability as a key component of the current warfare over growth are only going to continue to be complex, contentious and difficult.”

Read the rest at: http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=1605

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.

E-mail him at: kdayhoff@carr.org

####

Sunday, May 14, 2006

20060514 Water and Growth Issues in Carroll County


Water and Growth Issues in Carroll County
Kevin Dayhoff
April 3rd, 2006 – May 14th, 2006


Update May 14th, 2006: I wrote the piece pasted below as one of those free-association exercises that writers go through as they are trying to organize and fathom an issue.

Sometimes pieces such as this are refined and become columns. More often than not they could become a “diary entry” if one had the time to collect them properly in a body of work.

This piece merely got lost in my computer filing system, until I reconvened working on this week’s Tentacle column and rediscovered it.

… I’d like to write a piece about the future of “Smart Growth” in Maryland….

Every time I begin such a piece I get distracted by the results of the recent election in Mount Airy and what those results indicate, if anything, for the future of managed growth discussions.

Then I get distracted by water allocation and appropriation issues.

And Adequate Public Facilities Ordinances (APFO) and what that means for the future of managed growth issues.

Or the results of the bitter and contentious discussions over municipal annexation that took place in the recent session of the Maryland General Assembly.

Then there is the study recently released by the University of Maryland National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education about APFOs and Smart Growth issues.

Reality Check Plus (
http://www.realitycheckmaryland.org/) is conducting a series of exercises on growth issues…

I cannot ever remember getting ‘writers-block.’ I usually get ‘writer-overwhelmed.’

Meanwhile, as I sort all of this out. Below is a piece I wrote on April 3rd, 2006, as I tried to find some bearing on some of the growth issues in Carroll County.

I hope that most of the text below will get refined and re-appear in a future column. The again, it would appear that some of the words and concepts will get jettisoned like so much of the flotsam and jetsam of contemporary conversations as to how to proceed with growth issues in Maryland.

Meanwhile, it appears below in its unedited stream-of-consciousness first draft.
_________________

Water Issues in Carroll County
Kevin Dayhoff
April 3rd, 2006

Water and wastewater treatment has always been in issue in Carroll County since the first settlers came here in the early 1700s.

And one thing is for sure, water and all the accompanying issues are sure to continue to be complex, contentious and difficult.

All water in Maryland is owned by the state. All uses of water, including safety, distribution, rate setting, use of, discharge into and just anything else that is remotely associated with water is by state permit.

A never-ending alphabet soup of complex byzantine federal, state and local regulations, laws, special commissions, committees and authorities regulates the permits.

Some of which are conflicting and all of which have spawned a cottage industry in Maryland for the full employment act of bureaucrats, lawyers, hydrologists, lawmakers, environmental groups, special interests groups and engineers. All of which, in many cases know a piece of the elephant but haven’t a clue as to what an elephant looks like.

The subject is awash with the pollution of misunderstandings, political rhetoric, outrage, conspiracy theories and misinformation.

Not a week goes by when an article in the newspaper does not appear about secret meetings, intrigue, ethics violations, fraud, misconduct, complicity and conspiracy. It reminds one of a giant gerbil, churning out news items as if it is twirling around in its own wheel of self-importance and inflated delusions of influence.

Ay caramba.

Sadly, the reactionary conversation - often involving unpleasant public hearings, uninformed conspiracy theories, political spinelessness and personal attacks - distorts and polarizes the collective discourse to such an extent that it renders many citizens skeptical about any discussion over growth and development.

Indeed, I have no anxiety over a publication, an advocacy group or a candidate for elected office taking a position; I just hate it when they pretend to be impartial. Or better yet, couch their panderings on the mantel that they are not “no-growthers”, with no plan that has any relationship with rules, regulations or laws – or reality.

In the next 25 years, the population of Maryland will increase by 1.5 million.

Not all 1.5 million need to live in Carroll County. Nevertheless, as much as I would like to live in a Westminster with the simplicity and population density of 1958, that is just not possible.

Usually the news items spewing-forth from this never-ending well of rhetoric result because someone has decided that they are all the sudden an “expert” – read: self-involved know-it-all.

They disagree with a public official who has worked tirelessly for peanuts, away from their family and loved ones, to try and negotiate the byzantine complexity of water laws and regulations for the greater good of a community they love.

It is okay to disagree, confine your disagreement to the issues or increase your dosage.

Then the citizen-experts and the sycophant elected officials in their pocket, leak to the newspaper misleading information that only tells a portion of the story. Many of the newspaper reporters in the area are young, new on the job and it never seems to dawn on them to ask follow-up probing questions or give an issue context and perspective. The articles are short and have become derisively known as “McArticles.”

Many of these newspaper items are written by a reporter or an editor that has all the wisdom or knowledge of a Monday-morning quarterback, who makes ten-times the amount of money the public official makes and works half the hours.

More often than not, the news reporters are like sea gulls, who visit a small town newspaper long enough to knock all the pictures off the wall and soil all over the floor and then leave town for a better job. The public official is often personally and financially invested in the future of his or her community and is hear to stay and clean up the mess.

The folks who produce this fish wrap ought to consider that they need to maintain and honor a public trust to the very same citizens for whom we all serve.

In the words of Dan Rodricks in a similar commentary, these public officials “should be thankful for one small blessing – (they live in Carroll County in 2006,) not Salem 1692. In Salem, they hanged you or crushed you under stone. Here they just humiliate you and raise doubts about your integrity.”

Thankfully, in Carroll County we have some of the state’s leading experts hard at work, to lead us into the future. Folks such as Hampstead town manager Ken Decker; Sykesville town manager Matthew Candland and Sykesville mayor Jonathan Herman; Westminster’s public works experts Tom Beyard and Jeff Glass; Union Bridge mayor Bret Grossnickle, Mount Airy council president John Medve and councilwoman Wendi Peters and Carroll County hydrogeologist Tom Devilbiss and Jim Slater, who runs the county environmental department.

There’s more, but I just wanted to assure you that all is not despair.

Water will never ever be as cheap as it is now. Just in the City of Westminster alone, in order to keep up with recent new federal and state regulations, a new water treatment plant to the tune of $5 million dollars or so, and a upgrades to the wastewater treatment plant may cost as much as $11 million, are in the works. All of this expense will barely add one more drop of additional water capacity.

As a result of recent droughts, the pressure is on the Maryland Department of Environment to scrutinize, to the letter of the law, all water allocation permits for municipalities.

Meanwhile, no one wants any more developments (in the middle of a corn field,) and anti-sprawl public policies dictate that future development occur in a municipality where the various public infrastructures, including water and sewer capacity are located.

Only, the recent interpretations of the water allocation permits, in many cases, will not allocate enough water for municipalities, for their present needs, never mind, any future growth for community employment of economic development.

And, perhaps most importantly, there are huge numbers of the municipal populations that have no interest in any more houses anywhere near their municipality – period.

Having grown up in Carroll County in the 1950s and 60s - when we had quality of life - I could personally care less if not one more house is ever built in Carroll County. But that is simply not a practical or realistic position. So, if growth is inevitable, how can it be managed as well as possible so as to ensure some quality of life?

Having said that, we can’t take away a person’s property rights by plebiscite or angry mob, so if the houses come, I want the developer to donate ball fields, school sites and upgrades in the roads and water and sewer capacities and keep taxes low.

Besides, if you grew up in Carroll County before all the growth and accompanying congestion – and you are still here, you have learned to roll with it and change what you can and learn to deal with what you can’t change.

It has been called to my attention that behind my house in Westminster was once one of the larger and oldest farms in Carroll County. It has long since given way to a housing development with loud mechanical cows that eat the grass with a roar.

More that once I have been asked if this turn of events has made me unhappy.

“Do I miss the cattle and open space?”

To which I enjoy responding: “Yeah, it’s just terrible. I once had fields and cows out back. Now I have friendly neighbors, with children playing and laughing. Folks who throw parties, in which I often feel the need to call – and ask them to turn up the volume when they are playing heavy metal.”

A community is like a box of crayons, there are sharp ones and dull ones, short ones and tall ones, some colors I like and some with names I don’t understand, but they all fit in the box well with a little negotiation. All it takes is a little patience, benefit of doubt, a little humility and humanity.

Let’s come together and agree or disagree graciously as we explore what is best for our greater community and our children. Gracious gets gracious in return. Leave the personal pollution out of it.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.
E-mail him at:
kdayhoff AT carr.org
####

Monday, July 8, 2002

20020708 Westminster Drought Management Plan

Westminster Drought Management Plan


July 8th, 2002


http://www.westgov.com/general/drought_mgmt.asp


On July 8, 2002, The Mayor and Common Council of Westminster adopted Ordinance No. 683 which amended Chapter 160 of the Westminster City Code entitled "Water".


In accordance with Section 160-13 of the Westminster City Code, the following Drought Management Plan proposed by the Director of Planning and Public Works and approved by The Mayor and Common Council of Westminster by Resolution No. R02-5, on July 8, 2002, governs the drought management of the City of Westminster's water system.


Click on the following links to download or view the Drought Management Plan and related documents:


Resolution No. R02-5


Drought Management Plan


Mandatory Water Use Restrictions (in effect during Stage 3 - Red status only)

If you are having trouble viewing these documents, be sure you have the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. This free software is available for download here


Westminster City Hall

P.O. Box 710, 1838 Emerald Hill Lane,

Westminster, Maryland 21158-0710

410-848-9000