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Program would shift farmers’ excess water to municipalities
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Related Topics: BALTIMORE
BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Coping with a water shortage and a booming population, Carroll County has a unique plan to preserve farmland and allow towns to use more water to expand development.
“It’s what I would consider a pilot project with some really great ramifications,” said Ralph Robertson, program manager of the county’s Agricultural Land Preservation Program.
Large plots of farmland often have more water running in wells beneath it than the farmers can use, said Tom Devilbiss, the county’s deputy planning director. Municipalities, on the other hand, are looking to expand to accommodate growing populations, but some don’t have enough water to do so.
The state doles water recharge credits to landowners, limiting the amount of water that can be pumped from wells so rainwater falling on the land can replenish the wells beneath.
With municipalities and nearby farms using the same pool of underground water, county planners and land preservation workers have devised a plan to allow towns to take farms’ unused recharge credits.
One farm in Uniontown has already entered into an agreement with the county, which would then need to agree with a town so it can pump more water, Devilbiss said. The second agreement requires permission from the Maryland Department of the Environment, and the county is working to complete that part of the plan, Devilbiss said.
Chief of Staff Steven Powell lauded the plan as a map for other counties to follow.
“This is not typical,” Powell said. “We are the first county in the state. Every jurisdiction in Maryland has this issue, every municipality, and we have come up with a rather unique and appropriate way to assist with smart growth to have our towns be towns and our country be country.”
msilvestri@baltimoreexaminer.com
Comments from Examiner Readers
6:04 PM MST on Mon., Jul. 7, 2008 re: "Maryland farmers squeezed by soaring fuel, fertilizer costs"
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12:03 PM MST on Mon., Jul. 7, 2008
re: "Maryland farmers squeezed by soaring fuel, fertilizer costs"
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10:08 AM MST on Fri., May. 9, 2008
re: "Program would shift farmers’ excess water to municipalities"
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2:02 PM MST on Mon., Jan. 21, 2008
re: "Harford has state’s only robotic milking machine"
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9:03 AM MST on Tue., Jul. 10, 2007
re: "Drought killing corn crop early this year, affecting livestock"
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12:17 PM MST on Fri., Jun. 15, 2007
re: "Harford has state’s only robotic milking machine"
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11:53 AM MST on Fri., Jun. 15, 2007
re: "Harford has state’s only robotic milking machine"
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9:11 AM MST on Fri., Jun. 15, 2007
re: "Harford has state’s only robotic milking machine"
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12:49 PM MST on Tue., May. 22, 2007
re: "New legislation to help preserve farms and aid the environment"
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4:57 AM MST on Thu., May. 3, 2007
re: "Cost of milk leaves gas prices in the dust"
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Examiner Reader said:
Rising fuel costs. Chineses drilling 85 miles off our coast while we import. No new refinery within 30 years Do not worry Obama has a tax plan to make it all ok.
2 agree | 3 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
This is the unfortunate price we pay by thinking and acting that gasoline prices would never change. Wait until winter hits because if it's cold, our prices are going to jump again. It's time to invest in renewable energies, I'd be more than happy to see O'Mally push for these over the new Calvert Cliffs Power Plants. Maybe farmers should be cut a deal to go back to solar and wind power for home and allow more money to be spared for fuel costs.
3 agree | 2 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Then what happens when the farmer's neighbor's well runs dry?
5 agree | 5 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
why does the cow look green?
114 agree | 119 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
The cows are out of luck, now that we are using corn for fuel. What a plan. It sounds good during good growing seasons, but what do you do now? We need to stop screwing around with band aids to fix our fuel supply problems and get serious about resources that are proven to work. Nuclear power, new refineries and drilling.
238 agree | 270 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
I saw my grandfather hand milk cows in a barn with only an oil lantern for light. What's the world coming to!!!
266 agree | 249 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Isn't it a little demeaning to refer to beautiful dairy cows as "toddlers" and a magnificent robotic milker as a "toy". The technology blows my mind that a cow can be milked by a robot. Good for the Dallams! Kate makes the BEST ice cream in the world at Broom's Bloom Dairy Store.
265 agree | 279 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Very interesting article on the robot. However, cows surely get more than "a pellet" while being milked. One pellet would be about the size of a piece of dogfood and would hardly lure the cows to the robot. I hope the cows get a good portion of pellets dumped in front of them when they enter the robot.
271 agree | 267 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
That doesn't seem like a lot of milk production. are you missing a few zeros? Tim Feeser Carroll County Commissioners office
538 agree | 261 disagree
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Huh? said:
Doesn't the government subsidize milk? What an economic ripoff of citizens. Produce extra milk, waste lots of it then charge more for the little bit that is left.....amazing!
424 agree | 294 disagree
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