Baltimore City will soon pump 50 million gallons of water a day from the Susquehanna River to supplement falling water levels in the region?s three reservoirs, public works officials announced.
The switch, beginning Tuesday, marks the first time since January 2002 the river was tapped to supplement the system?s sources for drinking water. Baltimore?s reservoirs have dropped since June ? when they were 99 percent full ? to their current level of 66 percent, officials said.
Still, acting City Public Works Director Shirley Williams cautioned the move is precautionary.
“This is by no means a water emergency,” Williams said in a statement. “We are basically conserving some of our reservoir water and using the Susquehanna while the river is running high.”
Despite recent storms, city officials said they expect dry weather patterns to continue. The city?s 1.8 million customers across the metropolitan region use 265 million gallons per day. In the summer, demand increases to more than 300 gallons per day, they said.
Williams, who called the Susquehanna?s water quality “excellent,” urged consumers to reduce water use by 5 percent.
In 2002, when reservoirs reached a record low of 42 percent, diversion to the Susquehanna River lasted nine months.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
