Hampstead updates water policies amid new state rules, limits big leak bill credits

Town Manager outlined new compliance steps for Hampstead’s water system on the council dais, saying the state adopted a COMAR rule that requires prompt reporting and customer notification when service pressure is lost. “You have to notify MDE within 1 hour,” the Town Manager said, describing the new tier 1 notification and the requirement to notify affected customers and detail corrective actions.

The council heard that once service is restored the town must take certified-lab E. coli samples and submit results to the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) before requesting the tier 1 notification be lifted. “Once we receive MDE approval, we notify the affected customers of the negative test results, and that a tier 1 notification has been lifted,” the Town Manager said.

Officials also told the council they are changing the town’s water-leak credit policy after several very large incidents. The Town Manager cited an 800,000-gallon commercial leak that led to an $8,000 credit and a prior 600,000-gallon leak, and said the town will move to cap leak credits. “The max credit that we will give a customer is $100,” the Town Manager said, noting the existing limit of one credit every two years will remain.

Kevin of Public Works described ongoing federal and state testing requirements and the town’s inventory work for the lead-and-copper rule. “We had to do a complete inventory of every service line of the 2,333 services in Hampstead, what the materials were, what year they were installed,” he said, and added that schools and day cares served by the town’s system will require multi-location sampling over the next five years at the town’s expense.

Kevin also previewed the next round of national unregulated contaminant monitoring (UCMR6), which will expand testing beyond prior rounds. “They are checking for more PFAS chains, 13 different kinds of VOCs, and 3 kinds of pesticides,” he said, and noted that pharmaceuticals were removed from the UCMR6 list at the last minute. If additional constituents are found, the town said it will follow multi-year sampling and regulatory steps outlined by federal and state programs.

Council members and staff emphasized existing treatment capacity — including activated carbon for many constituents — but said the new rules will require additional staff time and laboratory work. Town staff outlined next steps as implementing the tier 1 notifications, completing the school/daycare sampling plan, and preparing for UCMR6 sampling.

The council took no formal vote on regulatory compliance at the meeting; the changes described reflect administrative policy and operational adjustments that will be implemented by staff.