Moving to head off Maryland's worsening water crisis, Gov. Parris N. Glendening ordered mandatory water-use restrictions yesterday for the first time in state history, banning lawn sprinklers and home car-washing and asking businesses to cut water consumption by 10 percent.

"Not since the Depression has the state been this dry, have our rivers been this low, our water table this low and our reservoirs this low," Glendening said in a news conference at the State House in Annapolis. "The state is literally drier than it's been in over 70 years."

The emergency restrictions -- violation of which is punishable by a $1,000 fine and six months in jail -- apply to all areas, whether served by a public water system or private wells.

The governor's executive order took effect immediately, but he advised police to issue warnings before taking action against violators.

The order bans all washing of paved surfaces outdoors and limits the watering of gardens and golf courses and filling of pools.

Restaurants are permitted to serve water only on request. Agricultural irrigation is exempt from the restrictions.

Maryland is the first state in the parched mid-Atlantic to impose statewide water restrictions, and the order provoked some grumbling.

"I think it's a little bit of overkill," said Scott Wolfkill, who will be forced to shut down the two Mighty Spray carwashes he owns in Glen Burnie and Severna Park because they do not recycle their water.

"We, as an industry, support the water ban, but the governor needs to be understanding as to what we need to survive."

Kitty Ingram of Columbia said she was worried about the prohibition on "topping off" home swimming pools.

"All I know is if it doesn't remain at a certain level, it will totally ruin your pump," Ingram said. "I'm going to have to get some clarification on that."

'I have to water'

But Patricia Owens, who has lavished care for 20 years on the flower gardens in front and back of her Charles Village rowhouse, said she was relieved that she will be able to save them. Watering lawns is out, but gardens can be sprinkled with watering cans, buckets or a hand-held hose.

"At least we can keep the delicate flowers alive," she said. "Some, if you don't water for two days, they're gone. I can be thrifty, but I have to water."

Glendening said more severe limits, including mandatory limits for business, could be imposed later if rain does not refill reservoirs: "We hope that this does not happen, but we will move decisively and with the full force of this office if conditions get worse."

The governor expressed sympathy for those inconvenienced by the order.

"I know this will not be easy," he said. "Some grass will die. I love working in my garden in my private home. I love my azaleas. But in the big scheme of things, the grass will come back and we can plant new azaleas. Our cars will get dirty but we can wash them later on.

"These are tough times, but this is a tough state and we'll do fine."

As crops withered and streams shrank, scientists at the U.S. Geologic Survey said this week that the drought of 1999 threatens to become the century's worst, partly because it follows three unusually dry years. Drought emergencies or warnings have been declared in seven eastern states and the District of Columbia.

Yet some water experts questioned whether statewide restrictions -- occasionally imposed in dry Western states but rare in the East -- were the best answer.

"For the governor to implement restrictions everywhere in the state is not a good idea," said John J. Boland, professor of geography and environmental engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

"Every urban supply is a unique case -- some have plenty of water, and some may be in serious danger. Nobody knows better than the manager of each water utility what needs to be done," Boland said.

Glendening acknowledged that some areas are in better shape than others. But he said it would be neither wise nor fair to impose piecemeal restrictions.

"We ought not to be dividing the state, pitting one region against another," he said. "This is one state and we're all in this together."

Asked whether residents should be worried that they might find their water faucets dry two or three months from now, Glendening replied: "They should be worried.

"If conservation efforts do not work and if we do not get some rain, there logically will be a point at which water pressure will go down considerably. A number of smaller jurisdictions in the rural areas are already seeing that."

Apart from the restrictions, Glendening urged citizens to find easy ways to cut their daily water use. If Marylanders all cut shower time by one minute, he said, they will save 12.5 million gallons a day. Waiting for a full load of dirty clothes before doing the laundry would save more than 26 million gallons each day, he said.

The governor ordered businesses that use more than 10,000 gallons of water per day to prepare plans to cut consumption by 10 percent and encouraged -- but did not order -- them to implement the plans immediately. He made the 10 percent cut mandatory for plant nurseries and landscapers. He directed golf courses to reduce their water use by 80 percent.

Several large companies said they were already moving to save water.

Giant Food said it would stop daily washing of sidewalks at all its 176 stores, in Maryland and adjoining states. Giant spokesman Barry Scher said the company had also shut down massive "produce grinders" that wash waste produce into sewer systems.

Oriole Park worries

At the Maryland Stadium Authority, officials worried about dry-as-dust ball fields quickly contacted the governor's office and worked out a compromise plan.

"The Orioles' field has exacting requirements, and if we don't water at all, we'll get in trouble with Major League Baseball," said Bruce H. Hoffman, the authority's executive director.

Hoffman said the Orioles' and Ravens' fields will continue to get necessary watering. But the acres of grass, shrubs and flowers that surround the two stadiums will be watered only with treated wastewater from the Back River Wastewater Treatment Plant.

He said workers will pressure-wash only a quarter of the baseball stadium after every game, instead of half the stadium as is the usual practice. But he said the washing cannot be eliminated because spilled food would quickly pose a health hazard.

"We've got concrete all over our ballpark, and people spill hot dogs, cotton candy and beer all over it every day," he said.

The Restaurant Association of Maryland said it is faxing signs to its 2,500 members informing customers that water is available only on request. Reducing water consumption by 8 ounces at a time might not seem significant -- but cutting out the need for gallons to wash the glasses will help, said Boland, of Johns Hopkins.

There was some evidence of a watering rush to beat the ban.

"All morning, from the time we teed off, every sprinkler imaginable was running," said Edward Heir of Westminster, who played 18 holes yesterday at a course in Frederick County.

"Some of the tees were even getting sludgy," he said. "But at 3 p.m. [the time of the governor's order], like clockwork, you saw the sprinklers shut off. It was really weird. It's like someone just pulled the plug."

Preparing to tee off at Pine Ridge Golf Course in Baltimore County, Gerhard Ehlerding of Hampton took a stoic stance: "A golfer should be able to play in any condition. Only the pros play in perfect conditions."

Some charitable groups had canceled scheduled fund-raising carwashes even before the emergency measures became official.

Bill Bope, youth director at Glen Burnie United Methodist Church, announced at last week's Sunday services the decision to scrap the carwash scheduled for Saturday.

But the post-carwash picnic and pool party are still on.

"We're not wasting water there," Bope said, "except when we do belly flops."

For information on water-use restrictions, call 877-4-DROUGHT or go to the state's Web site at www.gov.state.md.us.

Sun staff writers Laura Cadiz, Larry Carson, Dan Thanh Dang, David L. Greene, John Murphy, Erika D. Peterman and Jackie Powder contributed to this article.

The Restrictions

Your yard: May not be watered. Gardens may be watered only with watering can, bucket or hand-held hose.

Your car: Prohibited except at commercial car-washes that recycle 80 percent of the water.

Your pool: Individuals may not top off their pools. Newly built pools may be filled. Public and community pools also may be filled or topped off.

Paved surfaces: Washing of streets, sidewalks and patios is prohibited.

Fountains: Ornamental fountains and waterfalls may not be used.

The penalties

Violators will be warned at first but could be fined up to $1,000 and jailed for up to six months.

Pub Date: 8/05/99