BALTIMORE (November 7, 2005) -- Today, just steps away from the dam at Loch Raven Reservoir, top officials from Baltimore City, Baltimore and Carroll counties, two state agencies and three quasi-governmental agencies signed a new voluntary Reservoir Watershed Management Agreement and Action Strategy.

"Our water system is truly a regional asset and we are working together to protect it," Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley said before signing the new agreement. "Our families all have the right to drink good, clean water. We are all stakeholders in this effort," O’Malley said.

The city owns and operates the water system which includes Loch Raven and Prettyboy Reservoirs located in Baltimore County; and Liberty Reservoir which is wedged between Baltimore and Carroll Counties. Together, the three lakes rovide high-quality water for approximately 1.8 million people in the Baltimore region. Additionally, more than 30,000 homes with individual wells in the atersheds depend on its ground water.

However, because the many tributaries that feed the reservoirs are part of three watersheds that cross local jurisdictional boundaries, a regional effort must be made to protect them.

Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith said the new cooperative effort is a omprehensive approach that will deal with emerging issues facing the watershed or years to come. "Protecting our watershed is an ongoing challenge that I now everyone here takes very seriously. This is a voluntary partnership, and, I’m really proud of the good work that can be accomplished when leaders of the Baltimore region work together," Smith said.

The new agreement and strategies will replace a 1984 Reservoir Agreement and Action Strategy. Important provisions of the earlier version were kept, while adding many new commitments that strengthen the original agreement and will help protect the region’s drinking water.

Some of provisions include: a new technical evaluation of all existing monitoring programs, a new comprehensive forest management program, a new evaluation of land preservation programs, new inspection and maintenance programs for sewers, a new monitoring program for sodium and chloride levels in raw water and an increased public awareness effort.

"Each of the signatories added new or enhanced commitments to this agreement. It will be important that each jurisdiction takes responsibility to protect our water supplies," said Julia W. Gouge, president of the Carroll County Board of Commissioners and Carroll County’s representative for the Baltimore Metropolitan Council.

In the 1970s, all three reservoirs were found to have high levels of phosphorus and excessive sedimentation. A coordinated effort had to be taken to correct the problems and establish the basis for continual improvement in water quality in the reservoirs. The Reservoir Watershed Management Program is based on a formal agreement signed at Loch Raven Reservoir in June 1984. Staff members of the signatories have been working together cooperatively ever since.

Charlie Conklin, who has a broad knowledge of the original agreement and is a board member of the Gunpowder Valley Conservancy, views the new commitments as a very positive step forward. "Having this new document gives us all a direction to work in. It will hold feet to the fire," he said.

The new Agreement is the result of recent complex negotiations among the principal signatories. It will be signed by the top elected officials of Baltimore City, Baltimore County and Carroll County: the chairmen of the Baltimore County and Carroll County Soil Conservation Districts; the secretaries of Maryland Department of Agriculture and Maryland Department of Environment; the chairman of the Reservoir Watershed Protection Committee; and the Executive Director of the Baltimore Metropolitan Council.

Mr. Conklin believes that one of the biggest challenges ahead is improving public awareness about the importance of the region’s water supply. "We have to continue to work together to improve public awareness. In today’s world, it is hard to get everyone exited, but this is important work," he concluded.

Under the new agreement, program participants will use the BMC website to promote public awareness of the Reservoir Watershed Program. The signatories have all agreed to continue to encourage and assist local citizens’ groups concerned about the watershed.

BMC staff works with representatives from local and state agencies to manage the day-to-day operations of the Reservoir Watershed Program. "During 2005, the Reservoir Technical Group and the Reservoir Watershed Committee have worked tirelessly to help develop the new Agreement and Action Strategy," said Larry W. Klimovitz, Executive Director of the Baltimore Metropolitan Council. "It is a result of the leadership here today and the hard work of many staff," he said.

In addition to hosting Reservoir Watershed Committee meetings, which are open to the public, BMC staff and staff from local and state agencies presented the new negotiated Agreement and Action strategy to interested citizen groups in mid-October, while it was under final legal review.

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