WATER & WASTEWATER INFRASTRUCTURE ––

The provision of public water and wastewater treatment services is often a key tool in managing development.

Since these utilities are often provided by private companies or authorities not under direct municipal control, managing growth and development is often challenging at the municipal and county level.

The Tri-County Regional Planning Commission has prepared the Regional Growth Management Plan (RGMP) in an effort to address this challenge. The RGMP contains growth projections that have been reviewed with all of the region’s municipalities, and defines Community Service Areas (CSA) to provide for managed growth through in-fill and reasonable expansion adjacent to existing developed areas.

The goal is to have the majority of development take place within the CSA boundaries as a means of reducing the cost and complexity of providing public facilities and services and reducing the burdens on public infrastructure.

PRIMARY GOALS

Encourage coordination between the provision of public utilities with the RGMP and municipal plans;
Identify and address limitations in public infrastructure relating to economic development that are consistent with the RGMP and municipal plans;

KEY ACTION ITEMS

Identify areas within existing infrastructure service areas with excess capacity and provide the tools necessary to enable infill and redevelopment;
Facilitate the development of municipal comprehensive and/or Act 537 plans where development is occurring that is not consistent with the RGMP;
Work with water suppliers to define Source Water protection areas for all public water supplies and preserve/protect these areas through a variety of land preservation and/or other protection mechanisms as appropriate;
Coordinate with the applicable utility providers in the reduction of impacts associated with combined sewer overflows;
Seek to identify opportunities where the DC Infrastructure Bank can be used to enhance public utilities;
As the items listed herein are put into action, the Implementation Partners should seek to continue their efforts toward the accomplishment of the plan’s goals through the identification and implementation of additional efforts deemed appropriate by the their committee and the County Commissioners. Any such actions should be publicly identified in the “Tracking Our Progress” section of the Comprehensive Plan Website.