Baltimore Regional Water Governance Task Force

The Baltimore Regional Water Governance Task Force was established under state law to make recommendations to modernize the governance of the Baltimore region’s water and wastewater utilities to help ensure residents efficiently, equitably and sustainably receive high-quality services.

Currently, residents of both Baltimore City and Baltimore County jurisdictions are served by water and wastewater systems under an agreement that dates back to 1972. Today, the regional drinking water and wastewater systems, owned and operated primarily by Baltimore City, now serve as many as 1.8 million residents across Baltimore City, Baltimore County and other surrounding jurisdictions.

Due to this regional population growth and the growing complexity of the utilities, City and County officials jointly-released a comprehensive review of the shared water and wastewater systems in 2021.

DUTIES

The Baltimore Regional Water Governance Task Force will:

Review the findings of two specified tasks of the Water/Sewer Services Comprehensive Business Process Review for Baltimore City and Baltimore County as finalized in July 2021, and other existing regional water and wastewater governance models.
Assess alternative governance structures for the Baltimore region’s water and wastewater utility.
Analyze the fiscal implications and efficiencies of each alternative governance structure, including estimated short- and long-term costs, 10-year historical costs that both jurisdictions have paid to the utility and cost. savings.
Recommend the governance model best suited for water and wastewater systems in the Baltimore region, and the necessary legislation and funding to establish the recommended model.
Issue a final report to the Mayor of Baltimore City, the County Executive of Baltimore County, the Governor and the General Assembly, no later than January 30, 2024.

TIMELINE

The Task Force is currently expected to hold four public meetings:

September through November—Public Meetings Held
December—Draft Report Issued for Public Comment Period
January 2024—Public Comment Period Closes
January 30, 2024—Final Report on Findings and Recommendations Issued

REPORTS

Proposed revisions to the draft Task Force recommendation
Draft Task Force recommendation
Draft report
Final Task Force recommendation

MEETINGS

All meetings will also be livestreamed on Baltimore County Government’s YouTube page.

Upcoming Events

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Past Events

Water Governance Task Force Meeting

Thursday, January 25, 2024, 6 to 9 p.m.

Virtual Meeting

Water Governance Task Force Meeting: Draft Report Review

Monday, January 8, 2024, 6 to 9 p.m.

Virtual Meeting

Date	Details
September 13, 2023	View the meeting presentation. Watch the recording. Read the public comments.
October 4, 2023	View the agenda. View the public comments. Watch the meeting video. View the meeting presentation. (Updated) View the Summary of Utility Profiles.
October 18, 2023	View the agenda. View the meeting presentation. View the public comments. View the CCBC's Essex campus aerial map. View the meeting video.
November 1, 2023	View the agenda. View the meeting presentation. Watch the recording. Read the public comments.
November 16, 2023	View the meeting presentation or watch the meeting video. Follow-up on questions from the previous meeting. Read the public comments.

MEMBERS

The Task Force is comprised of the following diverse group of experts, local stakeholders and community leaders.

Members	Named By
Bill Henry—Baltimore City Comptroller, Task Force Chair Lester Davis—Vice President, Chief of Staff of CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield Jason Mitchell—Former Director of the Baltimore City Department of Public Works (DPW) Patrick Moran—President, AFSCME Council 3 Kishia L. Powell—General Manager/CEO, Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) Water	Baltimore City Mayor Brandon M. Scott:
Lauren Buckler, P.E., CEM, LEED AP—Deputy Director, Baltimore County Department of Public Works and Transportation Carla A. Reid—Former General Manager, WSSC Water Robert M. Summers, Ph.D—Former Maryland Secretary of the Environment	Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski
Timothy Barr—Managing Director, Water/Wastewater, Maryland Environmental Service Jessica Medicus—Environmental Manager, Bay Associates Environmental, Inc.	Governor Wes Moore
Senator Cory McCray—District 45, Deputy Majority Whip	Senate President Bill Ferguson:
Delegate Dana Stein—District 11B, Vice-Chair, Environment and Transportation Committee	Speaker of the House Adrienne Jones:
Yosef Kebede—Director, Howard County DPW	Chair of the Baltimore Metropolitan Council:

CONTACT INFORMATION

For questions or more information about the Baltimore Regional Water Governance Task Force, email watergovernance@baltimorecountymd.gov.