Published: May 22, 2008 11:50 am      

New water lines, sources in works in Garrett

OAKLAND - New water lines and water sources are in the plans for the Garrett County Department of Public Utilities, including a test well near Gravelly Run Road and U.S. Route 219 that had been denied previously.

The site had been denied, department director Linda Lindsey said, but with a new employee making the decision, the State Highway Administration has approved the drilling of the test well.

"It's a shame that the approval of something like this, the drilling of a well site, is based upon personal feelings," Ernie Gregg, commissioner, said.

If the well produces a good quantity and quality of water, Lindsey said it could be connected to the proposed chlorination station on Gravelly Run Road to serve as an additional source for the McHenry water system.

Along with these projects, the department is going to work on a water treatment plant and well construction, a water storage tank and two water mains to be part of the McHenry water system.

Commissioner Fred Holliday questioned whether it would be possible to at least purchase the necessary pipes for the projects before they would be put out to bid, as the cost of the pipe is expected to increase by about 12 percent in a few months.

Lindsey said she didn't feel that would be possible with the county's bidding process.

She said that in Gorman, residents have now connected to the water line, and that there have been no complaints so far about the connection.

Denny Glotfelty, commission chairman, said he expected the complaints would be more that residents would not be hooking up to the line, installed by Mettiki Coal Co., due to issues in water quality after mining operations began. He said at the initial meetings in 2006 about the possible construction of the line, there had been complaints from those who wanted to connect but didn't fall within the affected area.

In Mountain Lake Park, Lindsey said, four of the wells drilled at Landons Dam will be potential sources for the town water system and are expected to produce about 275,000 gallons per day. This is 25,000 more than is needed, and the department is also looking into additional springs that could produce thousands more gallons each day.

In Friendsville, the upcoming sewer inflow and infiltration project has been split into two phases. Though the town is receiving $300,000 from the Maryland Department of the Environment, $750,000 from the Appalachian Regional Council, and $100,000 from City Development Block Grants, officials felt to take a loan out through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development would be too costly to residents.

"It would have been 20 cents for every $100 assessed," Lindsey said. "The Town Council thought it was not economically feasible to proceed with the loan."

Also, Lindsey said the county Department of Public Utilities had taken over all operations of the Accident water system. To speed up the process of checking water meters, the town has purchased radio-read meters so the water can still be checked monthly. This would speed up the weeklong process to about 15 minutes.

Contact Sarah Moses at smoses@times-news.com.