L ast week?s rain saves Maryland from falling farther into drought. But it does not relieve its water woes, a potentially crippling problem for the state?s economy. Readings at Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport show the state about 9 inches below normal for the year. And 15 counties are under a drought watch; some municipalities in CarollCounty have mandatory water restrictions.
State law requires municipalities to have enough water to endure a drought, which means past and future building restrictions in some counties at a time when the state expects 60,000 new jobs from the Base Realignment and Closure process. And so far officials have no plans for how to handle a severe drought like the one gripping Atlanta and northern Georgia. That city has about 70 days of readily available drinking water from its supply, Lake Lanier. To preserve more water for Georgians, Gov. Sonny Perdue, a Republican, recently asked a federal judge to order the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to slow the release of Lake Lanier waters to Florida. That prompted Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, another Republican, to write a letter to President Bush arguing that reducing the water flow to Florida would devastate the state?s commercial fishing industry.
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According to Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler, “The hope is that we won?t get to that.”
Maybe not this year. But we could. Fast-growing Atlanta never thought it would face a drought like it?s enduring. Changing weather patterns mean Eastern states must increasingly grapple with water questions once reserved only for dry Western states.
Official policy must not rest on “hope.” The state lost a Supreme Court case to Virginia over rights to water in the Potomac River. And Baltimore City, which supplies water to the surrounding counties, does not have an endless supply. It relies on the Susquehanna River in hard times. Since the Susquehanna River Basin Commission ultimately decides how much Maryland ? and New York and Pennsylvania, can draw from the river, it?s not an open spigot.
We are fortunate not to have to manage a countdown to desiccation. But the state?s growth rests on its ability to provide basic services to its residents. That means Gov. Martin O?Malley postpones making a water infrastructure plan at his and ourperil. Calling a special session about that issue makes sense. It makes no sense, as Del. Pat McDonough points out on the next page, to call one to raise taxes when an easy solution exists: Cutting spending.
