HdG Water Problems: 3 Work Sessions To Discuss Plans

HAVRE DE GRACE, MD — The city of Havre de Grace is encouraging people to get involved in the process of determining what to do about financing the future of its water and sewer system. City Council members and the administration will convene for their first of three public work sessions on the topic Tuesday, Sept. 10.

Investing in aging infrastructure has been a challenge for Havre de Grace while the city covers the costs of current operations and water treatment plan improvements.

Chief of Staff Steve Gamatoria presented the Water and Sewer Commission's infrastructure investment plan recently before the City Council.

Currently, the amount of leakage in the city's water system is unacceptable by the state's standards, and so corrective measures must be taken, he said.

Each year, public drinking water systems serving more than 10,000 people are generally required by the Maryland Department of the Environment to submit a water audit. In its most recent audit, Havre de Grace lost 18 percent of the water it was intended to distribute. As a result of its 2019 audit, the city must submit a water loss reduction plan to state officials by the end of the year because it was over the state's problem threshold of 10 percent. Its plan should identify potential sources of water loss, corrective measures, outcomes and time line for implementation.

In 2015, Havre de Grace was at 8 percent water loss, which was an acceptable rating, Gamatoria reported.

The Havre de Grace Water and Sewer Commission created a capital improvement plan for water distribution and waste water collection infrastructure that it says is "approaching the end of its useful life."

Aging infrastructure has "become a true burden to the city budget," Gamatoria said, explaining that overtime is often involved because water main breaks typically occur after hours, on holidays and weekends when the correct part is not in stock.

Officials mentioned this was not just a Havre de Grace problem, but that other cities are grappling with how to keep up with aging infrastructure in places like Flint, Michigan, and closer to home such as Baltimore.

To update current infrastructure, the commission suggested another avenue for funding was needed besides relying upon new water connections, which has been the practice and becomes risky as fewer new connections are available. That money typically goes toward debt service, its report said, and had been supplemented by a debt service fee that expired at the end of 2018.

Gamatoria encouraged the city to act "the sooner the better" on the issue of trying to get loans for the water system improvements, since "bond rates are very attractive." One of the questions that must be answered is how the city wants to finance potential loans.

The public will be invited to weigh in through public works sessions, and a referendum may be needed to decide how best to address the financial challenges, Gamatoria said.

Here is the presentation about the water infrastructure plan Gamatoria shared with the council.

"You can't be in reactive mode; you have to be in proactive mode," Council President David Glenn said at the Aug. 19 meeting where the presentation occurred.

3 Public Work Sessions: Council/Commission/Administration Collaborate

There will be three public work sessions where members of the Havre de Grace City Council, Havre de Grace city administration and Havre de Grace Water and Sewer Commission will discuss the commission's proposed Capital Improvement Program:

• Thursday, Sept. 12
• Tuesday, Oct. 8
• Tuesday, Oct. 22

All will be held at 6 p.m. in Havre de Grace City Hall, 711 Pennington Ave, Havre de Grace.