Baltimore County?s water woes have flooded into Howard County, straining the county budget and possibly plaguing residents down the line.
Baltimore City is charging Howard County 9 percent more for water this year, to offset the cost of repairing a broken, 54-inch water main in southwestern Baltimore County, which feeds Howard, Baltimore and Anne Arundel counties. Baltimore City owns the water reserves in Baltimore County.
Howard County residents will not be charged more this year, but a rate hike could occur in the next two years, said James Irvin, director of Howard County Department of Public Works.
“We are absorbing the cost into our budget,” he said.
County Executive James Robey added 11.7 percent to this year?s water and sewer budget, which totals about $39.8 million.
“That is part of the cost to fix their system,” Irvin said.
Howard County will rely on one major water main under Route 40 during the yearlong repairs in combination with other smaller contributing mains.
“If a break occurred on Route 40, this county would go out of water,” said Jeff Mozal, operations manager for Howard County Department of Public Works.
“If another one breaks, we could have a problem.”
The cost for that kind of a repair would be extremely expensive. “There is nothing we could specifically budget for,” he said.
Water main breaks are increasing in the county because of aging iron pipes and decay caused by minerals from the soil, said Don Robinson, a technician who collects water and sewer information for the Department of Public Works.
Breaks in Howard County?s water mains occurred in the 1980s and early 1990s, he said. Both of the broken pipes were replaced.
The Department of Public Works is keeping costs down, by continuing the Baltimore Regional Cooperative Purchasing Committee for its second year. The program saves the county between 8 percent and 10 percent on utilities, when jurisdictions pool their purchases, said Howard County Budget Administrator Jonathan Seeman.
“It?s a good idea, because by joining together with other jurisdictions, we can lower the cost. Buying large quantities gives us leverage to purchase at lower cost,” Seeman said.
Howard County purchases most of its water from Baltimore City, and a small amount from Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission.
