Bel Air residents press Allegany County commissioners over soaring water bills as Maryland Water Service sale advances

Residents from Bel Air, Pinto, Glen Oaks and Highland Estates told the Allegany County Board of Commissioners at a public meeting that sharply higher water and sewer bills are forcing some households to curtail basic hygiene and, in extreme cases, consider leaving their homes.

The residents delivered a petition with about 1,200 signatures and asked county officials to convene a multi-agency meeting — involving county, state and federal elected officials and staff — to press the Public Service Commission and the new buyer, American Water, to produce immediate relief. "We are trapped in a form of economic captivity that's imposed by this private for-profit water company," said Dr. Larry Smith, a Bel Air resident who spoke on behalf of a group of petitioners.

The issue centers on the private operator Maryland Water Service, which residents said has repeatedly received rate increases from the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) and is in the process of being sold. Grant Van Weingarten, a Bel Air resident who reviewed American Water’s investor materials, said the buyer disclosed a June purchase package valuing acquired systems at about $315,000,000 for roughly 47,000 customers; he cited that slide from…