Baltimore County Posts Updated Map of Water Tower's Potential Sites

A more detailed map of 23 possible sites for an elevated water tank in Reisterstown was posted to the Baltimore County Department of Public Works website today, after a map released Wednesday did not appease members of the community.

"We requested this," said Owings Mills resident Bonnie Levitt, who had not yet seen the new map. "We went right to [councilwoman Vicki Almond and community outreach liaison Tony Baysmore] and said that what they provided wasn't very satisfactory."

The new map outlines potential sites with yellow circles and includes many more road names than existed on the .

The public works website said many of the outlined locations had already been disqualified, but the department has not said which sites are no longer being considered.

"We don't have a list of places we've ruled out," said Public Works spokesman David Fidler, saying instead the department had a list of the best possible sites for a water tower.

"Bond Avenue is still the top of that list," he confirmed.

But some sites have been disqualified by engineers based on elevation requirements, according to Fidler. The county is looking for a space with an elevation of 700 feet--the elevation at Bond Avenue-- to avoid having to build a taller water tower.

"This is the point not to get into specifics, but rather to [give criteria for] a water tower," Fidler said, adding that narrowing down sites and seeking community input would come in October, when engineers complete their study.

The county decided to provide a full list of would-be sites rather than a map marking off those that have been disqualified, Fidler said, because Public Works Director Ed Adams wanted to give the community all the information the department started with when it began deciding where to place the water tower.

"The idea was to show everything the county had," Fidler said.