Technical Group Recommends Enhanced Monitoring of Lakes and Tributaries
BALTIMORE (November 30, 2004) -- The Baltimore Reservoir Technical Group (RTG), a standing committee of the Baltimore Metropolitan Council (BMC), recently released its latest technical report, with recommendations for maintaining and improving water quality in the Liberty, Loch Raven and Prettyboy reservoirs and their watersheds.  The report, Water Quality Assessment, Targeted Studies and Ongoing Water Quality Issues in the Baltimore Metropolitan Water Supply Reservoirs and Their Watersheds, is the result of a year-long effort by the RTG, and draws upon more than a dozen reports and specialized studies dealing with the watersheds since the mid-1990s.

"Our water supply system is truly a regional asset," said Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley, who chairs BMC. "Although Baltimore City owns the reservoirs in Baltimore and Carroll counties as well as water treatment plants in the City, 1.8 million people in the entire region depend on the reservoir system for their drinking water. I commend the RTG for working cooperatively to ensure that our residents will have safe, quality drinking water, both now and well into the future."

The report describes ongoing efforts to monitor sedimentation and the delivery of other pollutants to the reservoirs by tributary streams.  Monitoring activities are currently conducted by Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Carroll County and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.  The RTG recommends that these agencies coordinate their monitoring efforts both to avoid duplication and increase overall coverage. 

The RTG also points out the importance of monitoring tributaries during wet-weather events.  Heavy rains or snow melt can increase stream flows and deliver large loads of sediment and pollutants into the reservoirs.  Sediment can fill in the lake beds and displace holding capacity for water, while algae blooms and elevated levels of phosphorus and sodium can affect the quality of the water.  

The RTG was established by the 1984 Reservoir Watershed Management Agreement, which was signed by Baltimore City, Baltimore and Carroll counties, the soil conservation districts of the two counties, the Maryland Department of Agriculture and the predecessors of the Maryland Department of the Environment and the Baltimore Metropolitan Council.   The 1984 Reservoir Watershed Management Agreement was reaffirmed in February, 2003 by the same signatories.

The water quality report was distributed to attendees at the 2004 State of Our Watersheds Conference, which was held on November 20th in Baltimore and jointly sponsored by the Baltimore City Department of Public Works and the Baltimore County Department of Environmental Protection and Resource Management.

Printed copies of the report can be obtained at $10 each from the Regional Information Center at 410-732-9570.  The report is also available online in PDF format at http://www.baltometro.org/RWP/ResProgTechRept.pdf (pdf: 1,050 KB).

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Last Updated on Wednesday, 17 December 2008 07:30