Aberdeen?s running out of water and the city says it can?t handle any more growth as a result.
That?s no small matter, considering 54,000 people are expected to relocate to the Harford County area as a result of military base realignment.
But after 1 1/2 years of trying to quench the need for more water, town officials say they?re optimistic they will get a grant that may lead to tapping another water source.
A committee of eight regional officials will request $500,000 from the federal Office of Economic Adjustments to perform tests on a well beneath the Chesapeake Bay to see if the well could handle pulling large amounts of water from it.
“We would have a water source that?s inexhaustible and would not only take care of Aberdeen?s needs for a long time, but also Aberdeen Proving Ground?s,” Miller said. “It could also help supply the rest of the county.”
But it would cost another $3 million to draw water and city officials have not identified a potential source.
The final decision on the $500,000 grant rests with federal officials, but the city has a “very good” chance of getting it, said Jim Richardson, Harford?s economic development coordinator and a member of the local committee.
“We?ve had a very good relationship,” he said. “We?ve had a very good track record.”
The money would fund the study on the feasibility of using the well water beneath the Bay and a system Bel Air and Havre de Grace already have.
