I have been concerned about the water supply for several years and as a result I was appointed by the Charles County Commissioners to serve as a member of the Water Resources Advisory Committee.  The WRAC Report was issued in November 2006 and one of the recommendations was the establishment of a position for a Water Resources Manager.  To the best of my knowledge the position has not yet been filled.

      As you are well aware, there are numerous reports by MGS and USGS in addition to the “Wolman Report” of May 2004, all of which indicate that by 2030, Southern Maryland, and in particular Charles County, could experience “difficulties” in meeting increasing demands for water.

      Of particular concern is that MDE continues to issue Water Appropriation and Use Permits for new subdivisions of more than 10 dwellings.

      Charles County is experiencing rapid growth and as a result, additional water requirements are causing water supply difficulties for numerous private well owners throughout the entire county.  Inasmuch as municipal wells utilize the same aquifers as private wells, many private well owners have had to install new wells at considerable expense. Some have had to locate their wells to the deepest aquifer, the Patuxent, beyond which is bedrock.

      You mention that many existing wells are not constructed in a way that protects a homeowner from declining water levels; I assume you are referring to “telescoping” wells.  However, many private well owners WITHOUT telescoping wells have experienced declining water levels and in some instances have had to install new wells to obtain water from deeper aquifers.

      According to USGS Fact Sheet FS 2006-3009, “MDE needs more comprehensive and interactive tools for making management and permitting decisions.  Specifically, MDE needs information systems and simulation tools to evaluate the effects of increased withdrawals on the entire aquifer system in important sub-regions and throughout the Maryland Coastal Plain.  These tools need to take into account that some of the aquifers are units of a regional system that extends into and is used for water supply in adjacent states.” (emphasis added)

      In addition, industrial users such as Mirant Mid-Atlantic will use millions of gallons of groundwater on a daily basis from the Patapsco and/or Patuxent aquifers.  Until pipelines are installed to the Mattawoman Sewage Treatment Plant to enable the use of treated effluent, i.e. grey-water, for Mirant's scrubbers, groundwater will be used for the next two to four years.

      Charles County continues to expand: More than 3,000 new homes in the Town of La Plata alone and much more development is planned along the St. Charles Parkway extension to Rosewick Road, Piney Church Road, State Route 488 and along the proposed Charles County Connector extension from Waldorf to Bryans Road.

      These developments could result in thousands of more homes, in addition to the aforementioned 3,000 in the Town of La Plata. Many residents throughout Charles County are greatly concerned about the enormous impact these developments could have on aquifers that are already stressed.   In fact, the Potomac Heights municipal well in Indian Head has already reached the 80% management level, and it's my understanding that it reached this level several years ago.

      Therefore, it is of utmost importance that MDE thoroughly evaluate all applications for Water Appropriate and Use Permits including how additional withdrawals may affect private wells.  It appears that many of these applications are routinely approved without consideration of the possible adverse impact on private wells.

      I understand this is a difficult issue, in that the demand for new development and the interests of current residents are sometimes at odds, however, if the water tables continue declining at the rate of the past several years, I fear that everyone will lose - homeowners, commercial and Government interests alike.  

      Water, or the lack thereof, dictates the success or failure of a region's economy and life itself.

This was sent as a letter to John Grace at Maryland Department of the Environment, Water Management Administration on January 1, 2008.  To date Ms Thomas has not received a reply.