Public works officials are urging roughly 150,000 northern Anne Arundel County residents to cut down immediately on outdoor water use until a water main under the Patapsco River near the Key Bridge is repaired.
The voluntary water restrictions, which follow a similar request made this spring in response to near-drought conditions, are expected to ease demand on a second water line buried under Nursery Road, Pam Jordan, a county public works spokeswoman, said yesterday.
North county homeowners and businesses are encouraged to reduce their outdoor water use between 5 p.m. and midnight Monday through Thursday, including holidays, and from 5 p.m. Friday to midnight Sunday, she said.
The voluntary restrictions affect homeowners and businesses from Laurel and Hanover in the west, to Pasadena and Bayside Beach in the east, Jordan said. Mandatory restrictions on outdoor water use, including lawn sprinklers, garden irrigation and car washes, could be announced as early as Friday, she said.
Residents of northern Anne Arundel County receive drinking water from Baltimore through two water lines, one on the floor of the Patapsco River and one under Nursery Road. The Patapsco River pipeline, a 30-year-old concrete structure, was shut off in April when engineers noticed that it had a gaping hole.
When scuba divers investigated the hole, which is on a 20-foot section of pipe between Sollers Point and Hawkins Point, they discovered that it was large enough for a man to pass through it, said Kurt L. Kocher, spokesman for the Baltimore City Department of Public Works.
"We really don't know what caused the break," said Kocher.
Repair work on the damaged pipeline is expected to begin next month and be finished in the fall, he said.
Anne Arundel County officials said it is important that residents and business owners take the water restrictions seriously.
"I want to emphasize that it is critical for our customers in Pasadena, east Glen Burnie and the Marley Neck area to immediately begin voluntary water conservation measures," said Ronald E. Bowen, director of the county's Public Works Department.