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 Bridgepointe's whooshing water
By MARGOT MOHSBERG, Kent Island Staff Writer

Early yesterday, Joyce Constance was awakened by a thumping noise coming from her bathroom. When she lifted the lid of her toilet tank to investigate, water shot up into her face.

"It wasn't a pleasant experience," the petite retiree told the Board of County Commissioners at their weekly meeting yesterday.

She was one of 10 residents in the 88-home Chester community of Bridgepointe who detailed problems with uneven water pressure and water so discolored that it stains their clothes.

Allen Mitchell said the water in his toilet tank has overflowed seven or eight times in the past three months.

"I'm afraid to leave the house without turning the water off," he said.

Commissioners President George O'Donnell asked the residents to speak to Alan Quimby, the county chief sanitary engineer, who was also at the meeting.

"That's two or three times a month. Nobody should have to tolerate that. That's ridiculous," Mr. O'Donnell said.

Mr. Mitchell suspects air pockets are shooting through the water system and causing the sudden bursts of high water pressure, a theory that interested Mr. Quimby.

"I've never heard of (this before)," he said. "Sounds reasonable that it is air. The system is generated by compressed air."

Problems with the community's water system, which is maintained by the county, are nothing new for Bridgepointe residents.

They say they have been complaining for six years about brown, smelly water that sometimes only trickles into the homes of their community off Cox Neck Road.

"Over the years, the county has treated the symptoms but not the disease," said Dick Fisher, president of the Bridgepointe Townhouse Condominium Association.

Replacing old equipment is not going to fix the problem, resident Martha Whitmore told the commissioners. The community needs a new well, she said.

"A health problem is a priority," she said.

However, Mr. O'Donnell said there isn't any money budgeted this year to pay for a new well. He added that a new well might not correct the problem because the county will have to tap into the same aquifer.

Residents will see some improvements in two months, when the county completes its construction of two new pumping stations and a storage tank in the area.

"The storage tank will give us some additional capacity to scour the water and to ensure that everyone has an adequate supply," said Steve Walls, director of the Department of Public Works."

In the meantime, Mr. O'Donnell promised to have the county look into the water pressure problem and update the residents on upcoming improvements to the system at one of the homeowners association's monthly meetings.

"We know it's been a problem and it's been ongoing," he said. "You've been very tolerant. Probably too tolerant."

Published June 27, 2001, The Capital, Annapolis, Md.
Copyright © 2001 The Capital, Annapolis, Md.

Better water for Bridgepointe
By MARGOT MOHSBERG, Kent Island Staff Writer

To the relief of Bridgepointe residents, county officials have vowed to clear up the water in the Chester townhouse community by September.

At a meeting with 30 residents on July 16, Commissioners George O'Donnell and Marlene Davis and the head of the county Department of Public Works explained when and how the county was going to remedy their problems with uneven water pressure and discolored, smelly water.

Chief Sanitary Engineer Alan Quimby said the county in September is expected to complete two new pumping stations and a storage tank in the area and in the meantime, is temporarily tapping into a different aquifer to give residents water with less iron and sulfur.

"We're drawing more water from the aquifer than we really should, but the problems are so severe we just said the heck with it," Mr. Quimby said.

Residents said the change has been refreshing.

"We see a big difference in the smell and color of the water," said resident Al Mitchell. "I think we are well on the way to getting the problem resolved."

The Board of County Commissioners suggested the meeting after 10 residents talked about the problem at a recent session in Centreville.

Edna Mae Kincaid said she recently went eight days without being able to wash her light-colored clothing because the iron in the water turned them orange.

"Yes, the Sanitary District will supply all of the Iron Out (iron remover) I want, but I don't want it. It ruins my clothes and irritates my skin," Ms. Kincaid wrote in a July 6 letter to Mr. Quimby. "We wouldn't think about making juice, boiling potatoes, cooking oatmeal, making our morning coffee or even brushing our teeth with the water that comes into my house."

Mr. Mitchell said the water in his toilet has overflowed at least seven times in the past three months.

The same thing happened to another resident who did not want to give her name.

"It was just unbelievable," she said. "There was black stuff and brown water. It was noisy. It was like someone dropped a bomb."

Rita Fisher, whose husband is president of the Bridgepointe Townhouse Condominium Association, said residents seemed satisfied with the county's solution.

"If every meeting was like that one, we'd get a lot done around here," added Mr. O'Donnell.

Mr. Mitchell said he recently polled residents in the 88-home community and found that most believe the problems have been addressed to the best of the county's ability.

"All of the residents are looking forward to September when things hopefully will return to normal," he said.
 

Published July 25, 2001, The Capital, Annapolis, Md.
Copyright © 2001 The Capital ,Annapolis, Md.

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