The Wednesday Wetness

From the Balmer Sun, Baltimore-led work group to study regional water management model serving 1.8 million residents

A 13-member work group will convene in January to start discussing a potential new oversight structure for the Baltimore region’s water and sewer systems. Chaired by Baltimore Comptroller Bill Henry, the work group will look at creating a regional water management model to give jurisdictions that use the systems a say in how the water and wastewater systems are managed and financed, and to bolster the region’s ability to maintain the infrastructure in the future. “The future of Baltimore’s water system affects so much of the metropolitan area; it’s important that we employ a regional approach when tackling this issue,” Henry said in a statement Monday. The work group will meet Jan. 7 in the Baltimore City Council chambers.

Owned and operated by Baltimore City, the region’s water and wastewater systems serve 1.8 million residents in the city, as well as Baltimore, Carroll, Harford and Howard counties. The city is responsible for managing, maintaining and upgrading the systems, though nearby jurisdictions chip in through cost-sharing agreements. “This work group gives us the chance to modernize a system that has served the region for decades, but no longer reflects the needs of our communities,” Baltimore County Executive Kathy Klausmeier said in a statement.

You have to be pretty desperate to let the City of Baltimore handle your water and sewage needs.