(Aberdeen, MD – March 10, 2009) – – Harford County Executive David R. Craig has announced an agreement between Harford County Government and the City of Aberdeen for additional water for the city. The agreement was signed today at City Hall in Aberdeen.
“We have been working for months to bring closure to the water issue as it relates to the City of Aberdeen,” County Executive Craig stated. “This agreement clearly reflects the City of Aberdeen is open for business. The agreement means businesses will have an additional 100,000 gallons of water to support their operations, which is vital to our county, the City of Aberdeen and our military partners at the Aberdeen Proving Ground,” Craig stated.
Those attending the signing of the new agreement included Lt. Governor Anthony Brown, Councilman Richard Slutzky, Councilman Dion Guthrie, Councilwoman Mary Ann Lisanti, and members of the County Executive’s Cabinet.
The original water contract between Harford County and the City of Aberdeen was executed on June 27, 1995. That contract provided 500,000 gallons of water per day to the city from the county. The Fifth Amendment to the original contract boosts the water allocation by 100,000 gallons of water per day, to a total of 600,000. The additional allocation of water will be used for BRAC –related commercial and industrial development in the region.
The agreement requires the City of Aberdeen to design and construct a new booster station so that it can increase its withdrawal of water from the county system to the city’s water system. The proposed booster station is planned for the area of Edmund Street and MD Rt. 40.
Commenting on signing the Fifth Amendment to the water agreement with the county, Aberdeen Mayor Michael Bennett stated, “This new spirit of cooperation between the county and the City of Aberdeen will pay tremendous dividends for Aberdeen’s future, as the high tech employment center for Northeast Maryland.”
Regarding the terms of the agreement, payment of water by the City of Aberdeen is subject to $374,400 per each 20,000 gallons of water per day used by the city above the original contract amount. Should the entire 100,000 gallons per day be purchased, the cost to the city would be $1,872,200.
Harford County Government and the City of Aberdeen are looking forward to an additional amendment for water allocation above the Fifth Amendment or 100,000 gallons per day. The proposed amendment will coincide with the construction of the expansion to the Abingdon Water Treatment Plant which began in December of 2008 and is scheduled for completion in October 2011.
“The signing of the Fifth Amendment to the Water Agreement with the City of Aberdeen is another indicator of our commitment to assist business and industry develop in Harford County,” County Executive Craig stated. “The agreement reflects the short-term, mid-term and potential long-term solutions to water for the City of Aberdeen,” Craig remarked.
So we finally have a new spirit of cooperation after a 5th amendment is signed? Would be nice if our water bills were lowered, but you know how that goes….
There has to be something wrong with the numbers for the cost for this water. The way the article reads it will cost the City $1,872,200 every time they purchase the 100,000 gallons. Is that really the capital cost? If so the original crazy price of $36,000,000 to build a 6 to 8 million gallon plant looks mighty cheap!
Where will the city get the additional $1.8 Million dollars from? Ripken Stadium?
I’am sure there setting over there on the council. decideing how much more the local’s resident’s can pay’ not that it makes any difference. you will pay or else.
Good eye, Dave. I recently had a friend tell me the numbers in the story (which is a Harford County press release) can’t be accurate because, if true, the city would be paying nearly $19 for every gallon of water. Aberdeen could buy bottled water for all its residents for less than half of that price.
The suspicion is that a decimal place was located incorrectly.
Dave-I know you of all people understand that David Craig is never going to give a good deal to the City of Aberdeen. First of all 100,000 gallons is as a fart in a wind storm toward meeting even the current needs of the City for all the stalled projects waiting in the wings and goes nowhere near addressing the water necessary to accomodate BRAC. What this little piss ant deal does do is make the city closer to total dependence on the county and farther from the creation of its own reliable water source. Its been the wet dream of every county executive since Habern Freeman to go to sleep at night and wake up in Baltimore County where there are no municipalities. Control of the water is control of the city.
If nothing else, it does get him closer to the “regional water authority” he’s been pining for for the last two years or so…
Dell- I don’t disagree. But Craig’s regional water authority is just a trojan horse for the county’s desire to completely control growth through the control of water. Notice in his announcement that “Aberdeen is open for business”. Aberdeen helping Craig meet his obligation for the BRAC mandate is fine and good for the city. Water for the OPUS project inside the gate and the large C4ISR project also behind the gate would have to flow through Aberdeen’s interconnect anyway. My hunch is that since the funding for the county water plant expansion was to be entirely generated by the hook up fees for new houses that fund may be in a little bit of trouble. So he sells the water that he may have had to provide anyway and sweetens his own pot even further buy passing along some hefty capital costs.
One source tells me that the 100,000 gallons is specifically directed toward the COPT project. If my memory (old and creaky as it is) serves me the last price for the 6,000,000 gallon bay water plant was somewhere in the vicinity of $36,000,000. Milton Friedman and I don’t communicate on the same level but $1.9 million sounds like it might just be a tad more expensive, and most importantly won’t belong to the City. A J thong has it right, the development in the County can be controlled by the guy who has his hand on the spigot.
The further irony of this is that COPT was willing to forward fund any part of the Plum Point plant in order to get reliable water soon.
There are still the delicious waters of Deer Creek…right?
I Think the people of Harford county’ would prefer to avoid the waters of deer creek.or at the very least just buy Bottled water.it has been used for a dumping ground’s for years, for you name it.
Several Drowning’s have occured there. I think I will stick too bottled water & hope for the best. some areas are still used for baptism. ( been there & done that) Plenty’ of cow Manure still floating in the water.
possible fertilizer contamination, along with chicken manure. & thing’s that just should’nt be mentioned. on second thought I don’t want any Water!
Deer Creek water is not a very good source. There was a time when some folks thought it would be the solution for all that ails Aberdeen, but one quick glance tells you that is nonsense. Vet is right. The farmers upstream have enjoyed a long history of being able to do what they please with the creek, and it usually benefited the farmers a whole lot more that the creek. The next problem is that water is usually quite turbid and fairly expensive to treat. The next problem is that the politics of Nimby and Cave people make it impossible to get to the water. And then, because the creek flow drops in the summer, there is a requirement to have 100% backup source if the creek level drops low. No Deer Creek was NEVER a good source of Aberdeen’s municipal water supply.
I just heard that the Exec is going to send a letter to all Aberdeen residents encouraging them to collect rainwater for flushing their toilets.
If it’s yellow, let it mellow, if it’s brown, flush it down….
Rain Barrell’s were a big favorite, when I was growing up all the country people had at least one. but I can never recall useing the water for anything but a garden. I use to hear the elder’s, speak of the magical property’s of rain water but I never saw any.
Oddly enough the mosquitoes never seem to care for it either.
A thousand new townhouses on Rt 7 contigious to Aberdeen but outside the city and the soon to be housing on the redeveloped Beach Tree golf course also contigious but out side the city have all the county water they want. These developments over crowd our schools and stress all of our public services without paying for any of the impacts.
If Dave is right as I suspect he is and the water is for COPT (Corporate Office Properties Trust) the headline “Aberdeen Open for business” is akin to throwing a bone to a dog that you keep on a short leash.
I wonder if the water Czar would sell Aberdeen 100,000 gallons to build a housing development within the city so that the folks who work at the COPT project could live where they work?
At survival school I learned to cook rice inside bamboo, no water needed. The water inside the plant steamed the rice.
You can get water from a lot of natural sources.
Al Thong has it correct! You can “bet your sweet bippy” that the water Czar wouldn’t knowingly allow Aberdeen to purchase water without restrictions!
I would have loved to be a “fly on the wall” at their little dog and pony show
signing ceremony. Ross Perot’s quote “A giant sucking sound” comes to mind. Politicians!
Al Thong asks about the water czar allowing Aberdeen to be able to have housing built to accommodate the COPT people. That is precisely what the good folks in Bel Air don’t want this City to do. Thong mentions the housing along RT7. That’s the Hollywoods development. All of the children there go into the Aberdeen schools, affecting the overcrowding negatively. The Beachtree project will add another 15,000 units to that already overcrowded high school. Aberdeen can not do anything at this point, but since we have a relatively inept Mayor and Council, nothing is getting done anyway. They’re talking about amending the charter. They might just as well turn it in.
Dave thank you’ for the head’s up. I was’nt aware aberdeen had a mayor & council. may be and out of town Draft we could do better.