Baltimore, MD

Between 2014 and 2018, as Baltimore faced enormous water infrastructure and operations challenges, city officials considered engaging a professional water company to help improve the performance of the city’s water system. Under city control, the Baltimore water system incurred four health violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act since April 2014, exceeding the Maximum Contaminants Levels of the Disinfectants Byproducts Rule each time. The city reported over 189 million gallons of sewage overflows in 2018, blaming them on inadequate infrastructure and heavy rains. All the while, the Baltimore DPW struggled to implement a new billing system for the water utility, leading to thousands of incorrect bills and customer complaints. Unfortunately, the question of how professional water companies could help the city deliver safe, reliable drinking water to its residents was hijacked at every turn by opposition groups opposed to any private sector involvement in providing water services. Learn more about the true story in Baltimore.