II. Water System Improvements

We have had a busy year in both maintaining and improving the water system.  Besides having the seasonal system leaks to repair, this year we have had to replace two well pumps, a booster pump, and gas chlorination controls. As many of you know the predecessor of the Beaches Water System started with the subdivision of Long Beach and Calvert beach in the early 1930s.  The system has continually evolved to this present form of having eight wells, five pumping stations, a 6 inch main loop supplier, and gas chlorination. The system has high reliability due to its redundancy and interconnection. The one well pump that failed and was replaced was in-service for over 25 years that we know of without any maintenance or repair.  This exceeds the 15 years that normally can be expected of a well pump.  The other well pump may have operated for close to 20 years.  We can expect more major infrastructure replacement in the coming years.  As a community owned not-for-profit water system we do not retain earnings as in a for profit company.  We operate within our budgetary means each year.  We are, however, required to maintain a reserve fund for failures of pumps and wells so we are prepared financially to handle these issues.   We will be looking in the near future at well maintenance, rehabilitation, which is recommended but has never been performed on our system.  The benefits are maintenance of well capacity and increase life of the well.

One of our past improvements paid dividends again with our recent series of storms.  Power was lost in the community for most homes between 2-6 hours during the storms.  Our emergency generator automatically started when power was lost and ran for 2 hours keeping our main pumping station in operation so no one lost water service during the storm.

III. Water Conservation

Tips for Conserving Water:

•        Turn off water while brushing your teething or shaving
•        Keep your shower to five minutes or less
•        Only use dishwasher or washing machine with a full load
•        Repair leaky faucets, toilets, or pipes
•        Use water efficient faucet aerators/showerheads
•        Mulch your flower & vegetable beds to reduce evaporation
•        Water your garden in the morning when evaporation is less
•        Landscape using drought tolerant plants

To aid in water conservation for our community, BWC is offering, at wholesale cost, water saving shower heads and faucet aerators.  These water saving devices use 1/2 to 1/4 less water than the regular devices and produce similar water pressures.  They are reported to provide the same enjoyment as their high flow counter parts.  If enough members participate in this conservation effort we could save millions of gallons of water a year.  These water saving devices can be purchased, by our members only, at the BWC office for the following prices:

IV. Right of Ways

From time to time it is necessary to repair, replace, or install new distribution piping in the right-of-ways.  More of this will be happening with the installation of water meter pits.  When this happens, you may notice digging along side the road in the right-of-ways.  These road right-of-ways exist past the paved portion of the road and are usually 40 or 50 feet wide where as the road may only be 25 foot wide.  Many community members maintain these right-of-ways areas as part of their yards.  When it is necessary to dig in these areas we will always return theses areas to the same or better condition that they were in prior to the work.  Remember we are a member owned organization and those BWC guys out there working are looking out for the best interests of the community.

V. National Night Out

Come and join us for the 25^th Annual National Night Out on Tuesday, August 5, 2008.  National Night Out is a unique crime/drug prevention event sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch.  Beaches Water Co-op is proud to participate in this important campaign to strengthen neighborhood spirit and heighten crime and drug prevention awareness.  Last year our board members were available to answer questions regarding the installation of water meters, water restrictions and other questions members had.  We distributed information about water conservation and had a drawing to win a water conservation kit with showerhead, aerators and tank dam.  Come out and meet your board members.

VI. Annual Water Quality & Consumer Confidence Report

Our drinking water is safe and meets all federal and state requirements for community drinking water.  In 2007, there were no water quality violations.  Our water quality results are based on the monitoring cycle for the contaminant up to December 31^st, 2007.  Terminology used in this report is what is generally accepted as a means of measurement of the degree of contaminants in the water.  Contaminants include naturally occurring items in the water such as minerals and foreign matter that may or may not be acceptable based on the level detected.  The amount of contaminants in our drinking water is well below levels set by the Environmental Protection Agency in all categories.  We routinely monitor for contaminants in your drinking water according to Federal and State laws.  All drinking water, including bottled drinking water, may be reasonably expected to contain at least small amounts of some contaminants.  It's important to remember that the presence of these contaminants does not necessarily pose a health risk.  If you have any questions about the Annual Water Quality Report please contact us at 410-586-8710.

Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) has completed a Source Water Assessment of the Beaches Water Co-operative wells in the Nanjamoy and Aquia aquifers. This report is available in the office for public review.

Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water than the general population. Immuno-compromised persons such as persons with cancer undergoing chemotherapy, persons who have undergone organ transplants, people with HIV/AIDS or other immune system disorders, some elderly, and infants can be particularly at risk from infections. These people should seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers. EPA/Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines on appropriate means to lessen the risk of infection by Cryptosporidium and other microbial contaminants are available from the Safe Water Drinking Hotline (800-426-4791).

VII. Financial

The following chart is a breakdown of the budget for the fiscal year 7/1/08 - 6/30/09.