LOCATION:
   5901 Hillside Rd
MAIL:
   P.O. Box 164
PHONE: 
     (410) 586-8710
WEB PAGE:
www.chesapeake.net/apc/bwc.html
EMAIL:
   apc@chesapeake.net
DROP BOX
   Outside Gate
 

Board of Directors (As of August 2000)

Jack Jorgensen -  President
Stephen Davis – Vice President
Gary Clarke – Security / Treasurer
John Randall - Director
Dick Heibel - Director
Bill Bozman - Director
Tony Penna – Director
 

Contract Management (As of August 2000)

Dennis DiBello - Business 
Manager/ Superintendent
Linda Speciale – Receptionist
Jackie Jacob - Bookkeeper
Kenny Grover – Operations Tech.
Ray Foster - Maintenance Tech.
   

As we end the peak of the summer season our thirst for water has increased two fold – topping 6 million gallons per month and challenging our Maryland Department of Environment water usage limits.

As the custodian of our water, Beaches Water has always supported conservation.  Last year, prior to Governor Glendening instituting mandatory water restrictions, Beaches Water was already working to heighten the awareness of the effects of the drought conditions and recommended easy tips to curtail water usage.  This year we continue to ensure that our water is always available and economical for all co-operative members.  Listed below are some tips to assist in minimizing water usage:
 

Beaches Water is not suggesting conservation for the sake of conservatism.  But rather, our prudent use of this natural resource will ensure that we operate within the law and that water is available for future generations.  Community water allocation is calculated on a per household basis.  If we fail to use our water wisely, the Department of Natural Resources may impose mandatory water usage restrictions.

The aquifers from which our five pumping stations draw water are under a lot of stress.  The aquifers that we use are essentially underwater rivers originating in Pennsylvania and flow towards southern Maryland.  People throughout central and southern Maryland share water from the same aquifers.  Recent growth has put a huge demand on what was once thought to be an unlimited water supply.  The water level in the aquifers is dropping causing well failures throughout Southern Maryland.  Hence, the Department of Natural Resources has started to be more vigilant in monitoring water usage.  Again, if we fail to use our water wisely we may have mandatory restrictions imposed.

The board of directors has kept the staff busy with an aggressive schedule of capital projects.

New Service areas - Water lines have been extended to bring service to both the Calvert Beach Estates II and Kings Creek Estates II subdivisions.  The expansions will benefit current users by looping several dead end lines eliminating low pressure situations.  Also, increases in revenue and water allocation will aid in stabilizing the company.

Line Upgrades - This summer two projects will be completed to improve service on Hickory and Long Beach Rd. along the bay front.  New lines, valves and pressure regulating equipment will be installed.  These upgrades will not only improve pressure control throughout the system but also improve the system’s performance during electrical outages. As we upgrade lines, we are installing new fire hydrants to expand and improve the fire fighting capability in our service area.

New Emergency Generator - A new emergency generator is now installed at the Slater Plant on Hillside Rd.  The generator will enable us to keep you supplied with water service in the event of an extended power outage.  The equipment has been installed, tested and is fully operational.  Water service during such an emergency will be at a reduced pressure.

Maintenance Shop - As we become more independent we need to provide personnel with adequate facilities in which to work.  We are currently adding a maintenance shop addition to the office at the Slater Pumping station.  The shop will enable us to properly store equipment and spare parts, in addition to providing space for our technicians to work. 

Power Trencher - We recently purchased a used power trencher.  The acquisition of this valuable piece of equipment has enabled us to repair leaks and perform smaller line replacement projects quickly and efficiently, and at a fraction of the cost of using outside contractors.

Beaches Water Company treats the water with disinfectant to ensure the water is safe to drink.  The main method is injection of chlorine gas into the raw well water flow stream.  Chlorine treatment is generally recognized as the most common and effective disinfectant with its use at 98% of water treatment facilities.  The practice of drinking water chlorination is one of the most significant public health advances of the 20th century.  At times the treated water may have a chlorine smell.  Letting it stand for a few minutes allows the smell to disapate.  For drinking water, storing a pitcher in the refrigerator provides the opportunity for the disapation as well as a refreshing source of a cold drink.
 

All planned outages will be scheduled a day in advance with signs posted in the affected area.  With each job that we perform, we improve the isolation capability of the system so that outages affect less members.  Unplanned outages will be handled immediately with the goal of limiting the number effected. 

Recently, on Sunday, August 13 at approximately 10:00 a.m., our Jorgensen pumping stations on Locust Street shutdown due to a controls malfunction.  We had also experienced a controls problem at Slater pumping stations on Hillside Drive the previous Friday.  It was left in a shutdown position awaiting parts.  Our remaining smaller, lower elevation, pumping stations carried the load which they were only able to do well for the lower elevations.  Even though it was a Sunday we found the problem during rounds and were able to restore pressure within an hour by placing the Slater pumping station in manual control.

Our thanks to the many members who called that day apprising us of the situation.  We apologize for any inconvenience that this force outage may have caused your household.  We were please that the BWC technicians were able to quickly turn the situation around.
 
 

The Beaches Water Company is a not-for-profit community owned water system.  We now have 720 member households in the communities of Long Beach, Calvert Beach, Cherry Lane Farms, Kings Creek II, & Calvert Beach Estates II

The Beaches Water Company has drafted a business plan which will be available for review at the annual meeting, Sept. 10, 2000 at 2:00 pm at the Long Beach Civic Center on Calvert Blvd.
 

Section
I	Organizational Plan
II	Financial Documents
III	Strategies
IV	Appendices
V	Notes

“To provide water service that is dependable, economical, and meets or exceeds health standards for all co-operative members” 
 

BWC bills in advance on a quarterly basis:
 

January 1	April 1
July 1	October 1

Invoices not paid 15 days after the quarter are assessed a one time 10% finance charge.  Invoices are normally sent to the homeowner unless a special request is made to bill the tenant.  However, the homeowner remains responsible for the payment.

To maintain our pay-as-you-go finance policy we have found it necessary to restore the service connection fee from $2,000 to $3,000 effective immediately.  The quarterly service rate of $65 remains unchanged  for FY 2000 billing.

We concluded from a recent review of water main leak repairs in the community that we have to increase the priority of water main replacements in several areas of the community.  The additional revenue will enable us to undertake these projects without incurring additional debt.

Besides conducting the business of the annual meeting, two director positions are up for election and there will be discussion of bylaw/rule changes.

If you are unable to attend, please complete and return the proxy vote which you received by U.S. Mail so your voice can still be heard.  Either mail or drop the proxy off at the office.

As was mentioned in our Annual Report, our water supply is regulated by the State of Maryland Department of the Environment as to the total which we can withdraw in one year and also the peak daily amount which can be withdrawn.  While we recognize the drive by homeowners to maintain attractive landscaping, we must be aware that watering high maintenance cool season lawn grasses when they would naturally become dormant is not a permissible use of our water supply.  Many types of grasses do very well on little water, but it is unrealistic to expect to be able to maintain a lush green lawn in the middle of the summer unless it is a result of the rains we have been receiving this year. 

To this end, we feel we must regulate in-ground watering systems.  Their very nature invites frequent, wasteful, timed watering regardless of rainfall, and these systems are a possible serious source of contamination of our water supply.  In-ground watering systems must have an approved backflow preventer installed to eliminate the possibility of contaminated surface water, fertilizer, weed killers, etc. from being pulled by vacuum back into our water system at times when the pressure may be low, such as when the system is down for repairs.  A representative of the Company must inspect any installed system to determine it’s impact on our water supply. 

We discourage the installation of these systems, and feel we must also charge those who have already installed them a premium to offset the volume of water they consume.   Of course, in times of drought such as we experienced in the spring and summer of 1999, these systems and all lawn watering will be stopped entirely.  Representatives of the Beaches Water Company have the right under the Rules of the Company, to “access to the premises supplied with water, at all reasonable hours, for the purpose of examining fixtures and pipes, observing the manner of using water, and for other purposes which are proper and necessary in the conduct of the Company’s business.”

The Company reserves the right to impose reasonable restrictions on the use of water during periods of shortage of supply  ”  We must all be aware that we are blessed with a good supply of clean water and we all must share in the responsibility of it’s conservation.

What are you comments on this issue? Email, mail, phone, fax or present your comment in person at the annual meeting.