The May 28, 2004 Executive Summary of the Governor’s Advisory Committee on the Management and Protection of the State’s Water Resources states that “water levels in some aquifers in several areas of Southern Maryland are approaching the minimum sustainable management level.”
According to various reports from the Maryland Geological Survey and U.S. Geological Survey, Charles County will have difficulties meeting its growing demand for water which “could lead to a water crisis of significant proportions. The report goes on to state that “Charles County . . . cannot supply the required water in 2030 . . . without draw downs exceeding the 80 percent management levels at some locations.”
The U.S. Geological Survey states: “Continued water-level declines at current rates could affect the long term sustainability of groundwater resources in Maryland’s heavily populated coastal plain. . . . The declines are especially large in Southern Maryland . . . where groundwater pumpage is projected to increase by more than 20 percent between 2000 and 2030.” It is reported that the greatest amount of drawdown has occurred in the Lower Patapsco aquifer with water levels as deep as 170 feet below sea level.
In a 2005 Washington Post article, David Bolton, chief of hydrogeology with the Maryland Geological Survey, is quoted as saying “The water is being withdrawn at a greater rate than it’s being recharged. When you have that going on, you wind up losing your water.”
A Water Resources Advisory Committee was established in 2006 by the Charles County Commissioners to address this issue. The committee made several recommendations, including connections with the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission for the heaviest users in Waldorf, La Plata and Bryans Road. That would allow the aquifers to “recharge,” which can take decades, and would ensure that an adequate supply remains available for residents with private wells. But neither this recommendation nor any of the others has been implemented.
As President of the Charles County Commissioners I will move the recommendations of the WRAC committee forward and implement and promote meaningful and productive water conservation measures.
