Baltimore work group recommends regionalized water governance model

Baltimore City and Baltimore County could soon share a single regionalized water and wastewater system under a controversial new operating structure advanced by a local work group late Monday night. The Baltimore Regional Water Governance Model Work Group voted to recommend transferring control of the municipal water infrastructure to a newly created board, a move that immediately drew sharp criticism from community advocates warning of steep rate hikes and a loss of local democratic accountability.

Under the newly adopted recommendations, Baltimore City would cede an unspecified degree of administrative oversight to a governing body structured in one of two ways. The proposal outlines either a 10-member board split evenly with five representatives each from the city and county, or an 11-member board featuring five city seats, four county seats, and two positions reserved for later appointment. The work group also recommended amending Maryland state law to enact the structural overhaul and extending the group’s tenure to supervise the transition.

The vote proceeded despite fierce pushback from community organizations and regional watchdogs who argued the panel bypassed critical safeguards. Jorge Aguilar, Southern Regional Director for Food & Water Watch, condemned the decision in a statement following the vote.

For years, Food & Water Watch has been calling for the city to maintain control of the system and improve equity in how water costs are allocated between the city and county. It’s a real shame that the work group advanced a recommendation without performing the required racial equity analysis or any meaningful financial analysis of the change. Water Watch

Aguilar warned that if the structural transition strips the Baltimore City Council of its legislative authority over municipal water programs, it would directly imperil vital consumer safeguards. These include the Water4All affordability program and the Office of Water Advocacy and Customer Appeals.

The Battle Over Regional Control and Equity Protections

The work group’s recommendation revives a regionalization model that was previously rejected. Ahead of the vote, nearly 20 local organizations dispatched a joint letter organized by Food & Water Watch and the Baltimore Right to Water Coalition. The coalition urged city leaders to retain control over local water, sewer, and stormwater infrastructure rather than surrender authority to a regional entity.

Baltimore city department of transportation water transit strategic plan graphic

Water advocates point to stark demographic and economic disparities underpinning the debate. Baltimore City residents already face higher water service rates than their county counterparts. Advocates note that transitioning to a regional authority risks deepening racial and economic inequities within a city whose population is approximately 60% Black.

Data show the acute financial strain already facing local households. By 2020, water bills in Baltimore surpassed the affordability threshold of two percent of median income in 131 out of 200 city census tracts. Of those overburdened areas, 108 were majority-Black neighborhoods.

Conversely, Baltimore County has long championed a regional management structure. In 2019, the Baltimore County Council passed a formal resolution urging regional oversight to address long-term capital and infrastructure needs for the county’s public water and sewer networks. Critics argue this push effectively shifts governance power away from Baltimore’s majority-Black elected officials toward majority-white suburban leadership.

The Legacy of the 2018 Anti-Privatization Historic Landmark

The current debate unfolds against Baltimore’s distinct history of municipal utility governance. In 2018, Baltimore made history by becoming the first major U.S. city to explicitly ban water privatization.

Advocates maintain that establishing a regional board without ironclad public protections threatens to unravel the legislative defenses. Without the oversight of the City Council, programs designed to issue affordability credits, bar service shutoffs, and fund the Customer Advocate’s office could face structural dismantling or financial dilution.

The vote lands just three weeks after Food & Water Watch published a comprehensive survey examining the 500 largest residential water systems nationwide. That report revealed that residential water rates in Maryland have escalated approximately twice as fast as the state’s median household income.

As state lawmakers prepare to review the necessary statutory changes, public scrutiny remains intense. The work group has yet to schedule formal dates for releasing the missing racial equity and comprehensive financial impact assessments demanded by community stakeholders.

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