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Harford County holds public hearing on 2026 Master Water and Sewer Plan; staff details parcel, project and capacity updates
Summary
County staff presented revisions to the 2026 Master Water and Sewer Plan including a requested sewer-category change for a Fallston parcel, a net reduction of 120 proposed residential units in Table 3-1, removal of two county water projects and the addition of the Magnolia sewer petition; one resident urged action on Green Ridge private-water complaints.
County staff presented proposed updates to Harford County’s 2026 Master Water and Sewer Plan during a public hearing on April 7, describing map, table and project revisions and answering questions from council members.
The presentation flagged a revision for 310 Niles Lane in Fallston (Tax Map 55, Parcel 363), where the applicant has site-plan approval dated Oct. 10, 2025, for a 5,000-square-foot retail/service building and is requesting a sewer-category change from S6 to S3. Staff said an S3 designation signals construction expected within 0–5 years and is required to approve construction drawings. Staff added that construction drawings for a separate WarGo project are under review.
Table 3‑1 (plan developments) was updated to reflect development activity over the previous six months. Staff said the Grace Hall subdivision was revised to show connections completed over that period and reported a net reduction of 120 residential units in the summary table, leaving 1,439 units shown as remaining. The presentation noted no change to equivalent residential units in business zones or industrial acreage.
Staff also described edits to the county’s short- and long-range waterworks and sewer capital priority tables. Two county projects were removed from the water list: the developer-funded Willoughby Beach Road extension (now unnecessary because the Copper Mine Recreation Facility is a current customer) and a 250-foot section of the Joppa Road transmission main that a 2020 study found unnecessary. Timing schedules for other projects were adjusted; the county added a Magnolia sewer petition project to the capital sewer priorities and said the town of Bel Air requested a Baltimore Pike pump-station and force-main replacement.
Staff reported that Maryland Department of the Environment requirements led to an updated Section 4.15 table showing monthly septic-hauler discharge data for calendar year 2025 to Sod Run wastewater treatment plant. The presenter said comprehensive tables of all county and municipal capital water and sewer projects remain in chapters 3 and 4 of the full master plan document.
During council questions, members asked why an entry for Red Plump Crescent still listed 46 units; staff said the figure reflects an approved plan dating to 2014 and acts as a placeholder when prior approvals remain recorded. Council members also clarified that category changes (S6→S3) relate to expected construction timing, not a direct change in allowed use. A resident speaker, John P. Malamo of Bel Air, urged the council to address longstanding water-service problems in the Green Ridge subdivision, saying residents face high bills, poor pressure and water they consider unfit to drink; staff did not announce a formal remedial action at the hearing.
The council closed the public hearing and said the resolution (No. 00726) will be taken up at the next meeting. No formal plan adoption or final votes on these amendments occurred at this session.
