Howard County’s Reclaimed Water Services
The Little Patuxent Water Reclamation Plant in Savage, Maryland.
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oward County, Maryland, has started a reclaimed water program over the last few years that currently provides up to 5 million gallons a day (MGD) of reclaimed water to a government client in its area. It is seeking to expand its water reclamation and reuse activity with other new commercial and industrial clients, and potentially with public irrigation applications as well. In this interview, Art Shapiro, PE, PMP, bureau chief for utilities with the Howard County Department of Public Works, speaks with Municipal Water Leader Managing Editor Joshua Dill about Howard County’s current water reclamation and reuse program, his vision for the future, and his advice for other municipalities thinking about establishing a similar program. Joshua Dill: Please tell us about your background and your current position. Art Shapiro: In August 2016, I joined the Bureau of Utilities of the Howard County Department of Public Works. Prior to that, I joined the City of Baltimore in 2011 as chief of utility maintenance and later served as chief of engineering and construction for the Department of Public Works through 2016. Joshua Dill: Would you give us an overview of Howard County’s water services?
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Joshua Dill: When did your water reuse activities begin, and what was the motivation behind starting the project? Art Shapiro: The design-build project for the construction of the new reclaimed water pump station to serve Fort Meade was completed by the Howard County Bureau of Utilities in 2015. Fort Meade, which is home to several government
PHOTOS COURTESY OF HOWARD COUNTY.
Art Shapiro: Howard County purchases treated water from the City of Baltimore and from the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC). Baltimore provides about 18–19 MGD, and WSSC provides 4–5 MGD, so the ratio is about 75/25. The water distribution system is located primarily in the eastern half of Howard County, where our
Metropolitan Services District is located. The western part of the county is more rural, and most of the customers there still use well and septic systems. We serve about 270,000 customers, and the Bureau of Utilities is responsible for 24/7/365 response for system repairs for both water and sewer collection. We also operate the Little Patuxent Water Reclamation Plant (LPWRP) in Savage, Maryland, which is a state-of-the-art enhanced nutrient removal facility. This plant is undergoing a $92 million upgrade to achieve Class A biosolids and move away from lime stabilization to a state-of-the-art sludge-drying process. We have a vibrant water reclamation and reuse program, which has been in place for several years. The starting point of the program was completion of our Route 198 Reclaimed Water Pump Station, capable of providing 5 MGD of reclaimed water flow to the Fort Meade Army Post in neighboring Anne Arundel County. The Reclaimed Water Pump Station, located in Anne Arundel County, lies just adjacent to the post. We provide reclaimed water directly from that pump station to an elevated storage tower located on the post. We are actively pursuing expansion of our reclaimed water system. We have infrastructure in place leading to another commercial customer, which remains to be connected pending execution of a formal agreement. Our goal is to increase the scale of our reclaimed water distribution system.
