The 2008 Water and Sewerage Master Plan   Highlighted Updates

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Highlights of the 2008 Plan and changes from the 2003 Plan are as follows:

• The water plan has been updated to reflect the increased water demands from 2003 to 2008. In 2003, our average daily water demand was approximately 22 million gallons per day from the public system, and for 2008, the average day demand is approximately 23 million gallons per day. The overall increase coincides with the additional residential population and commercial demand; however, the “per capita” water usage rate appears to be declining. Our total contracted water supply remains at 41.5 million gallons per day, which is adequate through the planning period of 2030. The Plan was amended for 2008 to include current negotiations with the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) concerning a better purchase rate. It is the County’s intent to increase the average daily draw from the WSSC, in exchange for a lower rate, in order to provide additional system redundancy.
• Chapter 3, which is the section on the water plan, was amended in the 2008 Plan to fully describe the County’s existing water pressure zones and update the system improvements to the Baltimore City and County system for insuring adequate and reliable water supply.
• Similarly, the sewer plan has been updated to reflect the additional sewer flows from 2003 to 2008. In 2003, approximately 22 million gallons per day were discharged to the public sewer system, of which 17.1 million gallons went to the LPWRP. In 2007, the total flows to the public system were 25.3 million gallons of day, of which 18.7 million gallons went to the LPWRP. Similarly to the water use, the “per capita” rate appears to be declining. With the upgrade to the LPWRP, to be completed in 2012, we will have a projected capacity of 41.4 million gallons per day which is adequate through the planning period of 2030.
• The 2008 Plan has been amended to fully describe the proposed upgrades to the Little Patuxent Water Reclamation Plant under the seventh (7th) addition project. This upgrade will bring the LPWRP into compliance with Enhanced Nutrient Removal (ENR) standards for nitrogen and phosphorous discharges, and will bring the plant’s hydraulic capacity to 29 million gallons per day. The improvements are expected to be completed and on line in the summer of 2012.
• The 2008 Plan addresses the County’s Reclaimed Water initiative. The system currently being constructed uses treated effluent from the LPWRP to serve cooling water and irrigation needs of two large commercial users along US Rt 1. This system is being sized for up to 5 million gallons per day of treated effluent, with the intention of serving both commercial and residential developments along the US Rt 1 corridor, as demand dictates Expansion beyond the immediate LPWRP vicinity will based on potential customers, and “scalping” plants are being considered for potential customers whose distance from the LPWRP makes service impractical.

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• A separate section for Shared Sewage Disposal Systems has been added to chapter 4 in the 2008 Master Plan. This section clarifies the requirements for acceptance of “large facilities”, and describes the treatment systems to be used for systems of varying flow capacities. Table 10B has been updated to include the existing and proposed facilities.
• Chapter 1 in the 2008 Plan was amended to include the provision for sewer service in the Alpha Ridge Water Service Area for “qualifying parcels”, which are defined as those parcels which are either owned by Howard County or the Board of Education, and adjoin another parcel where sewer service is available.
• Chapter 1 in the 2008 Plan has been amended to include the potential administrative oversight of certain functions of “Multi-User Sewerage” systems, by the Department of Public Works.
• Chapter 3, Table 8 shows the updated 2008 Plan comprehensive priorities for water system development. This table lists capital projects for water system upgrades that are required as the result of deficiencies determined by water system modeling, actual operational problems, or requests from property owners for extensions of the public system who are currently in the Metropolitan District.
• Chapter 4, Table 13, shows the updated 2008 Plan comprehensive priorities for sewer system development. This table lists capital projects for sewer system upgrades that are required as the result of deficiencies determined by sewer system modeling, actual operational problems, or requests from property owners for extensions of the public system who are currently in the Metropolitan District.