I will spend these last few days on building fresh food economies in each community and for Baltimore City as a whole by addressing those issues I highlighted this week. Let's talk about fresh water we all know will be needed for growing fresh food. Baltimore politicians if working for citizens and not global corporations would have been shouting these few decades against global BIG AG/BIG MEAT/BIG DAIRY in the state and that is what Cindy Walsh for Mayor of Baltimore will do. I will lead in making very public how our Maryland Assembly not only protects but advances the interests of consolidated food. This makes it harder for global Wall Street pols to do as then their voters know these pols are working against them. A Mayor of Baltimore would make sure Federal agencies tasked with water safety not only come to perform assessments but that the findings ARE ACKNOWLEDGED AND STEPS TAKEN TO ENFORCE RULINGS ARE MADE. So, when an outside agency says two of Maryland's aquifers are almost empty and the remaining water is heavily tainted with chemicals---the Mayor of Baltimore would not only protect citizens from food being brought into the city but push to see global BIG AG is not irrigating food from these aquifers.
At this point it is a matter of state sovereignty and security to stop allowing global corporations to drain these aquifers.
Real water filtration systems must be built and those corporations draining our aquifers should be glad to help pay to build this infrastructure.
Right now global pols are simply telling citizens they have to buy all kinds of home water filtration/well water filtration when we must be building these huge public systems at the source of water---whether coming to our homes or being used for irrigation. As you see below----global pols will first allow corporations to contaminate our water and then charge citizens to build their own protection. We need the state and city to fund these structures and corporations contributing to this get to help.
Water Filtration Systems Guys
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Water Filtration in Toms River, NJ
Global warming
With the environment and global warming becoming an increasingly prevalent issue more and more people are considering the effect all this pollution has on their family and home. In no one aspect is there more of an adverse affect than the water that flows into our home each day. 800-619-9450
Our existenceWater is a central part of our existence we wash with it, bathe with it, cook with, clean with it, play in it and most significantly, we consume it. Many people think that by adding a Water Filtration system to their kitchen sink they are solving the problem. However, considering all of the other uses we have for water in our lives it shouldn't be surprising to learn that experts recommend we filter all the water that comes into our home.
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Fortunately, there are Water Filtration systems that help us cover all of our bases and prevent contaminated water from reaching our loved ones. Options in advanced Water Filtration range from a whole house Water Filtration system to a simple water bottle filter.
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Whole Home Water Filtration supplied by Water Filtration Systems Guys in Toms River, NJ
Whole home Water Filtration systems are the perfect way to eliminate harmful contaminated water from getting into your home for good. These Water Filtration systems are installed at the point in which your water enters your home. This means that the water delivered to all of your showers, faucets and appliance will be squeaky clean.
Although these Water Filtration units may be more costly to initially invest in they are far more economical long-term. The filters on whole home Water Filtration systems last years rather than months and replacement filters are typically purchased at a nominal fee.
Once you get over the cost of the initial unit and installation the longevity of the system pays for itself in the quantity of clean water it will provide.
Shower Water Filtration and Sink Water Filtration installed by Water Filtration Systems Guys in Toms River, NJ
Many of the harmful chemicals in water can dry out or hair and skin. For this reason, many people use a shower Water Filtration system to remove chemicals like, chlorine, VOCs, THM's and to restore pH balance to shower water.
These systems attach directly to your shower and provide a continuous stream of healthier less harmful water in Toms River, NJ.
The most common place to install a Water Filtration system is on or under the kitchen sink. Faucet mount Water Filtration is cost effective and it covers the most essential aspect of Water Filtration and that is cleaning the water in which we consume.
Using one of these systems ensure that our family is not consuming harmful toxins like, lead, chlorine, pesticides, herbicides, waste pharmaceuticals and many others. Additionally, it helps reduce the amount of chlorine resistant parasites that easily pass through our water company’s filtration efforts.
On the Go Water Filtration
Once you begin to protect your family from these harmful contaminants you will want to ensure they are protected everywhere they go. Many people buy a filtering water bottle to accomplish this. This ensures that whether you are drinking at school, work or while you are traveling you are protected.
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While fracking corporations and others are now still using massive amounts of our fresh water aquifers---that does not even include global water bottle corporations-----global pols are telling citizens to prepare to drink recycled waste water-----they are not stopping the drainage from our aquifers---they are simply building structures for citizens that include importing water, desalination, recycled waste water. Maryland is so corporate that it passed the RAIN TAX and targeted it at homeowners and small businesses as it allows huge corporate retail with massive parking lots go without paying. Very little has come from the impervious surface laws in Baltimore. I watched as a school athletic court next to me was repaved and I could not interject with the contractor-----all decisions were made---and they resurfaced it in a way that has rain water flooding beds and sidewalks as it rushes to storm drains----all lost to what could have been rainwater capture structures that are not hard or expensive to do----ALL IGNORED WITH ALMOST ALL DEVELOPMENT IN BALTIMORE.
Large volumes of reclaimed water, which has undergone advanced secondary treatment, are reused through land-based applications in a 40-square-mile area near Orlando, Florida.
Credit: Water Conserv II
Land cover: Some land covers have a great impact on infiltration and rainfall runoff. Vegetation can slow the movement of runoff, allowing more time for it to seep into the ground. Impervious surfaces, such as parking lots, roads, and developments, act as a "fast lane" for rainfall - right into storm drains that drain directly into streams. Agriculture and the tillage of land also changes the infiltration patterns of a landscape. Water that, in natural conditions, infiltrated directly into soil now runs off into streams.
Raise your hand if you know that making Port of Baltimore a crude oil and natural gas export terminal with huge trailings of underground pipeline will end in spills, leaks, and a few decades will not be repaired and maintained just as our water pipeline was ignored? Already in states out WEST having allowed this a few decades ago citizens are filled with all kinds of complaints, safety issues, and of course----ground water and well water contamination. WE ALREADY KNOW THIS and yet, Maryland Assembly and Baltimore City Hall is moving all this as hard as they can---Baltimore pols the most as they are working for Wall Street Baltimore Development and Johns Hopkins major shareholders in corporations exporting crude oil and natural gas.
A MAYOR OF BALTIMORE WOULD NOT HAVE GLOBAL HIGHSTAR INVESTMENT FIRM WITH IVY LEAGUE ENDOWMENTS AS MAJOR SHAREHOLDERS CONTROLLING ALL THESE POLICIES IN BALTIMORE.
Below you see for whom who Baltimore City pols work
Look at this op-ed in Baltimore Sun where we are told exporting natural gas is our future----that is what third world nations do as their future----developed nations CONSERVE THEIR NATURAL RESOURCES. For this discussion it is the environmental damage to our fresh water ----ground water/river water/well water that will come with ramping up this natural gas exportation. O'Malley and Maryland Assembly pols championed this using the same talking points as below because they are Wall Street global corporate neo-liberals and NOT DEMOCRATS.
Liquefied natural gas exports are key to America's future
November 21, 2013In a recent opinion piece, Chesapeake Climate Action Network's James McGarry grossly mischaracterized recent studies on liquefied natural gas exports ("Exporting natural gas is a bad deal for Maryland," Nov. 12).
In reality, countless studies support LNG exports.
In particular, a U.S. Department of Energy study, compiled by NERA Consulting, found that LNG exports will result in "net benefits to the U.S. economy" and that "consumers, in aggregate, are better off as a result of LNG exports."
Each LNG export terminal is a multibillion-dollar investment that not only creates construction jobs but permanent jobs throughout the value chain. According to a study from ICF International, employment from LNG exports is expected to create between 73,100 and 452,300 jobs nationwide between 2016 and 2035. That means jobs for steel workers, turbine manufacturers, pipe fitters and others, which will help communities across the entire United States.
In a follow up study, ICF International revealed the expected economic impacts from LNG exports on Maryland. By 2035, depending on the level of LNG exports from Maryland, the study indicates that between 480 to 9,500 jobs will be created and income for the state and its residents will increase by between $100 million and $1.6 billion.
Given the scale of this possible job creation and economic growth, it's no surprise that the boards of commissioners from both Calvert and St. Mary's counties support Dominion's Cove Point facility in Southern Maryland. It's also not surprising that the project has the support of labor unions and small business owners in the area.
The U.S. has an abundant and growing supply of natural gas, and thus ample resources to meet all domestic needs and still export a small percentage of its gas for decades to come. In fact, the National Association of Manufacturers has stressed that export restrictions, including on LNG, would "have far-reaching negative effects on the United States and should be rejected."
In addition to its economic benefits, natural gas also advances environmental goals. In fact, increased natural gas use across the country is largely responsible for U.S. carbon emissions falling 3.8 percent last year, to 1994 levels, and is considered an important part of our national agenda for addressing climate concerns.
Supplying American LNG to our trading partners abroad would also help reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, since natural gas is the cleanest burning fossil fuel and an important complement to renewable sources of power.
There is no question that U.S. LNG exports could be one of our country's greatest contributions to improving the global environment while also creating jobs here at home.
Bill Cooper
The writer is president of the Center for Liquefied Natural Gas.
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I wanted to share a good FB comment on this fresh water issue as it extends to our public schools. Now remember many fresh food venues are tied to our public schools and where do they get their water? Because Baltimore City Hall pols work for Wall Street Baltimore Development and a very, very, very neo-conservative Johns Hopkins-----public school pipelines won't be fixed unless you are in the Enterprise Zones----and then only as a community in city center is slated for that development.
The Mayor of Baltimore will make critical decisions as Federal funds for infrastructure are sent----and establishment candidates are all highlighted by Baltimore Development and its major election forum venues because----these pols will continue to allow all revenue to go to all global corporations attached to each of Baltimore City's agencies---including our Baltimore Public Works/Water
Tom "Class Action Lawsuit"?
Tom Cindy Walsh, What about this issue, Cindy Walsh?...Actually both issues...Are Baltimore City Residents subsidizing Baltimore Co. Residents Water Costs?
Cindy Walsh Tom----both county and city citizens are being fleeced by decades of water bill payments with all the revenue misappropriated away from maintaining this water system for both counties. This design of shared access hails to days before Baltimore City was carved out as a separate incorporated city I assume. Most of the water coming to Baltimore comes from the rivers----the Susquehanna River for example with rain/snow filling reservoirs so there is little cost outside of moving it and filtering systems recycling it. You can imagine how many millions of ratepayers paided all that money for decades with this little of operational costs. As we rebuild this water and sewage pipeline it really will not impact Baltimore City citizens to have those pipes in Baltimore County done as well----they paid those same water bills as we did.
Cindy Walsh The class action lawsuits center on lead in pipes and the chronic disregard of Baltimore City Hall in addressing these issues as they sent over a trillion dollars in Federal, state, and local revenue these few decades to build corporate campuses and grow a few corporations globally. Suing the city for lead would do two things----it would allow court rulings to focus revenue on actually addressing these problems-----and it would place that emphasis ahead of current global corporate campus building. If you know the Master Plan is having Baltimore as an International Economic Zone surrounded by global corporate campuses and global factories---you understand why they are not rebuilding our entire system for the communities as they exist. This is the critical issue in this 2016 election---rebuilding each community as is or advancing global corporate campus development---and that will drive water and sewage upgrades.
Humberto
On the dl they sold the city's water right to what was once veolia, now transdev
Cindy Walsh Humberto, you are on to them! Only global VEOLA in the US was broken into two global corporations----VEOLA ENVIRONMENT for water and sewage privatization and VEOLA TRANSPORTATION for privatizing our public transportation. I have not seen official documents to know what Baltimore City Public Works contracts detail to VEOLA Environment but usually it sends all revenue from our water bills to them to then do as they want---and that has meant using revenue to rebuild water pipes as they build new global corporate campuses and Enterprise Zones.
Water from a fountain? Not in Baltimore city schools
For years city schools have hauled in plastic water containers to provide safe drinking water for students. Fixing the problem would mean replacing all the water pipes, costing millions per school. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun video)
Liz BowieContact ReporterThe Baltimore Sun
Baltimore City students still drinking bottled water nearly a decade after a lead scare.At Cecil Elementary School in Baltimore, where bone-dry water fountains stand next to brimming water coolers, several third-graders who've never drunk from the fountains puzzled over why they didn't work.
Maybe the fountains need batteries and they don't have them, one student said. Maybe the pipes are clogged, another suggested.
"We have always wondered about that water fountain," said Alexandria Francis, who along with her classmates had no clue that administrators have shut down fountains throughout the Baltimore City school system to protect kids from getting lead poisoning.
Signs over bathroom sinks telling students not to drink the water at Cecil Elementary School. Cecil Elementary School has been using bottled water to drink for years. Long before Flint Michigan's tainted water became a national issue, Baltimore city schools found the same problem in some of its buildings and shut off the water. For nearly the past decade, kids have been drinking bottled water.
(Lloyd Fox / Baltimore Sun)More than a decade before lead-tainted drinking water in Flint, Mich., became a national scandal, Baltimore schools found the metal in drinking water, shut down water fountains and brought in bottled water. School officials have struggled since with the inconvenience of hauling big plastic water containers, handing out and collecting small paper cups, and limiting sink use to hand washing.
Those problems, education advocates say, would never have been allowed to continue in wealthier school districts with more resources to rip out pipes and provide safe tap water. In cash-strapped Baltimore, no plan exists to renovate all city schools and remove and replace lead pipes. Students will continue to get bottled water from water coolers at most schools.
"It is the best option we have for providing clean drinking water for our kids," said J. Keith Scroggins, the chief operating officer.
A package of legislation introduced in Congress in February by Sen. Ben Cardin could provide funds for city schools to replace pipes, though its chances are uncertain in the Republican-controlled Senate.
BEN CARDIN KNOWS BALTIMORE CITY DOES NOT NEED TO WAIT FOR CONGRESSIONAL FUNDING----WE HAVE HAD THE REVENUE SOURCES IN BALTIMORE FOR DECADES!
The legislation is aimed at improving municipal water systems in the wake of Flint, but the Maryland Democrat said he hopes money to fix school pipes could come through a state revolving fund if the legislation passes and the funds are appropriated.
Fixing the problem in Baltimore — replacing all the water pipes in a school — would cost millions per school, Scroggins said. By comparison, the school system now spends $450,000 a year supplying bottled water to all but six of its 180 schools.
The problem will be fixed over time, Scroggins said, as schools are renovated or rebuilt during the next decades. The city will begin breaking ground at several schools in coming months as part of a $1 billion school construction plan that will replace or renovate between 23 and 28 schools in the next four years. Those schools will join six schools that have been built in the past decade that don't have lead-tainted water problems.
Cheryl Miles, a pre-K teacher at Cecil Elementary, helps Izaynah Council, left, and Derrick Swann, right, as they get water from the water cooler. Cecil Elementary has been using bottled water to drink for years. Long before Flint Michigan's tainted water became a national issue, Baltimore city schools found the same problem in some of its buildings and shut off the water. For nearly the past decade, kids have been drinking bottled water and there are signs over bathroom sinks telling students not to drink the water.
(Lloyd Fox / Baltimore Sun)
But even after about $1 billion is spent, more than 100 schools will continue using bottled water.
Baltimore's water supply is considered among the highest-quality in the nation, but the pipes within schools are the problem.
Jason Botel, a former principal at KIPP Ujima Village Academy middle school, sometimes had to carry the large barrel-like bottles on his shoulder to place them around the school. He also had to find the best way to distribute and collect hundreds of little paper cups each day.
"If the elevator went down, then it meant carrying those big heavy Deer Park water bottles," Botel said. "It was diverting energy away from teaching and learning. ... There was a lot of work making sure there were enough recycling and trash cans" for the paper cups.
Cecil Elementary's cafeteria uses very little water because it doesn't prepare school lunches on site. Each lunch comes in a plastic foam container in which it is warmed up and served to students. Tap water is used to wipe down the cafeteria tables and stainless-steel surfaces. Signs above the sinks in the bathrooms warn students and faculty that the water is for hand washing only.
Most other schools in the Baltimore area don't have the same lead infrastructure problems.
"In most communities around the country we have to acknowledge that this would not be acceptable," said Botel, now the executive director of MarylandCan, an education advocacy organization.
Nonetheless, Botel said, the decision to shut down the water fountains more than a decade ago was warranted and kept students safe, and the bottled water solution is an effective one. He and school officials agree that the inconvenience of drinking bottled water is just one of the many facilities problems that plague city schools.
Classrooms in dozens of schools, for instance, are either too hot or too cold because of the lack of air-conditioning and old heating systems that are not easily regulated. The air problems exacerbate asthma conditions and make it hard for students to concentrate on classwork — two issues that some teachers and parents find more concerning than having to use bottled water.
"I honestly prefer the bottled water because it is safer and clean," said Aisha Robinson, the mother of Alexandria, the third-grader at Cecil. "I am scared for my child to drink tap water."
Second grade students in Toni Patton's enrichment class work on a project determining where spring water comes from.
(Algerina Perna / Baltimore Sun)Health and safety must come first, said Frank Patinella at the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland, which has advocated for additional funding to repair and replace city schools.
"The school system has made the right choice in purchasing bottled water," he said. "Given the many dozens of urgent repairs needed each year — fixing leaking roofs, updating fire alarm systems and keeping the heat on — there is not enough funding to replace old lead pipes in over a hundred schools in the city."
Nearly a generation of children has grown up drinking water from paper cups at school, said Roxanne Forr, principal of Cecil Elementary.
"It is all the kids know," she said. "That is the only way they have ever gotten water."
Forr said the district's central office provides ample supplies of water and everyone has adjusted over the years. She believes the school's tap water is probably safe to drink. The school was renovated some years ago, and she knows of no test that showed unsafe lead levels when the water was regularly tested a decade ago.
Still, as a precaution, the school system will continue using bottled water for all but the most recently renovated schools.
Lead was first discovered in city schools in the early 1990s, when school officials ordered that water from fountains and sinks be tested. Those with unsafe lead levels were turned off and water coolers were installed. School officials weren't vigilant, however, and the water was turned back on at some schools.
Enter James Williams in 2003. A parent advocate whose son suffered lead paint poisoning a decade earlier, Williams began a one-man crusade to prove the water in schools was tainted by lead. He visited schools, had the water tested, and presented the results to the school board.
His findings alarmed board members, and soon the city Health Department was testing the water and shutting down school water supplies. At first, health officials ordered just the water sources with high lead levels shut down, but in 2007 city schools chief Andrés Alonso decided that annual water tests were too expensive and that it would be cheaper to turn off the drinking water in all schools and provide bottled water.
The test results at the time showed higher-than-acceptable lead levels from some water sources that had been deemed safe.
Although the issue of lead was lost on the third-graders at Cecil Elementary, Alexandria Francis and her classmates debated the pros and cons of water coolers versus fountains.
If they turned the water back on, Alexandria said, "that would save money."
"What if they had a recycling bin" for the paper cups? Kamurie Corprew asked.
"If we save money, we save trees," Alexandria said.
They decided they liked the idea of working fountains, and classmate Brielle Bowles pointed out that the savings could be spent on field trips and extra supplies for their classroom.
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I like this Maryland agency---it seems to actually produce data that is public interest and yet it is being defunded and our Baltimore City branch is threatened with remaining open.
Baltimore Development's Master Plan is steeped on building a huge global city with so much global corporate campus and global factory presence as to ask-----building density at a time our natural resources are stressed including fresh water? REALLY???????
This is a good assessment of our fresh water problems and I have shouted this for years---DO YOU HEAR ANY CANDIDATE FOR MAYOR OF BALTIMORE TALKING ABOUT THIS?
Please take time to glance through to see where the problems are and realize that when Wall Street global pols look at these problems they are looking how to protect a global corporation and its fresh water needs and not our individual citizens and communities.
Is Maryland's Groundwater in Jeopardy?
Maryland Geological Survey
Critical Questions
These are questions commonly asked about the groundwater resources in Maryland. The answers vary by aquifer and location across the State. Some aquifers and locations likely have a plentiful supply of groundwater of good quality to meet current demands as well as future growth, while groundwater supply in other aquifers and locations may be greatly limited and of poor quality. Answering these questions requires effective monitoring, critical scientific investigations, and a comprehensive regional groundwater-flow and management model.Why is Groundwater So Important?
Groundwater is nearly the sole source of fresh drinking water in Maryland's Coastal Plain (the area east of I-95). Approximately 1.4 million people rely on groundwater in the Coastal Plain. While ground water is not used as much as surface water as a water source, some towns and most domestic users in central and western Maryland also rely heavily on groundwater. A sustainable supply of clean drinking water is crucial to the health and well-being of the citizens of Maryland, in addition to a strong economic future for the State. Aside from being a crucial drinking water source, groundwater is also important for irrigation, commercial and industrial uses, and power plants. Because groundwater supplies water to streams and rivers, it is vitally important for sustaining healthy populations of fish and other aquatic organisms.
Problems Confronting Groundwater Management in Maryland
Groundwater supply in Maryland may be severely constrained in some areas in the future as a result of overuse of the aquifers and by poor water quality. Permitted withdrawals are assessed on an individual permit (well or well field) basis, while there is no systematic assessment of the effects from domestic withdrawals. Currently, the cumulative impact of the many thousands of wells pumping from Maryland's aquifers, or the extent to which the aquifers are being recharged (Coastal Plain region), is not being assessed. Additionally, water-level and water-quality monitoring to evaluate the health of the aquifers is inadequate in some areas.
SPECIFIC PROBLEMS BY REGION
Possible Consequences
If the current management system continues without the necessary tools and monitoring to effectively evaluate groundwater availability and quality, negative effects may occur, including
The Maryland Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey and the Maryland Department of the Environment, began a comprehensive investigation of Maryland's groundwater resources as part of the 2008 Governors Advisory Committee on the Management and Protection of the State’s Water Resources ("Wolman" report) recommendations. The report recommended a more robust water resources program based on sound, comprehensive data, adequate and reliable funding, programmatic and information needs, and implementation of specific legislative, regulatory, and programmatic changes. On the science side, the report recommended establishing a broader and more targeted network of monitoring wells, fully funding major hydrologic studies in both the Coastal Plain and Fractured Rock areas of the State, and improving analytical tools (groundwater-flow models) for predicting the impacts of well withdrawals. The initiative has produced a digital aquifer information system that greatly improves access to critical information. The system is currently used by MDE for assessing water-allocation permits. It is crucial that the full effort be completed so that Maryland can effectively sustain its vital groundwater supplies.
READ MORE ABOUT THE SCIENCE NEEDED TO PROTECT MARYLAND'S GROUNDWATER RESOURCE
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Below we see the basics of any farm and the considerations and these issues include urban farming. Zoning is a huge issue as I included in my discussion around wealth and global corporate land grabs-----but any candidate who does not KNOW farming---agriculture and animal husbandry but simply shouts for tilapia farms and roof-top gardens is not going to know what public policy issues surround creating a fresh food economy in each community.
Talking points are the opposite of KNOWING PUBLIC POLICY.
'10. Water
If you plan on farming, this is by far the most important resource to consider before you buy a farm. Water rights law is very complex and making sure you understand your rights and usage is extremely critical. Talk with the water master in your county. Read the water certificate and understand what it means in terms of usage of water and area allowed for irrigation. Know if you rights are currently valid and active. Landowners must irrigate at least once every five years in order to retain the validity of their rights. Also, what are the water sources on your property? Do you have an irrigation ditch and an association that manages the water? It is also important to know what year your rights date back to. Senior water rights always get the water first. Do you have ponds, creeks, or wells that you are legally able to irrigate from? Many landowners do not know that you can only irrigate up to a ½ acre from your well for residential purposes only. Also, what is your drinking water source? If from a well, test your water for metals and other contaminants. Your water may be high in lead or arsenic and treatment may be necessary. By far, the most common problem in rural real estate transactions is when a buyer does not understand the complexity of water law.
In general, do your homework. Use your state and county resources and be willing to spend some extra time and money for peace of mind. Knowledge is everything'.
Top Ten Things I Learned Buying a Small Farm
Melissa Matthewson
Publish Date:
Winter 2007
VolNo:
Vol. I No.1
Most recently, my husband and I purchased a small farm in southern Oregon-ten acres in the Applegate Valley, a mixture of pasture, woodland, hills and weeds. We were delighted when we went into escrow and could not wait to be on the land mapping out our ideas and dreams. We did not expect the process to take six months and turn into an arduous and exhausting real estate bonanza.
Despite the work it took to land the property and receive the warranty deed in the mail, I have learned a tremendous amount about buying a small farm and in turn, it has helped in my work as a small farm extension agent. Many of the inquiries I receive are from people who are interested in buying a farm (or who already own one) and they do not have the knowledge necessary to make appropriate decisions. Now, I have experience and knowledge to draw on when I give advice. I was in the same boat as many new landowners when I started, but it was only because of due diligence that we were able to work out many of the hidden challenges that went along with buying a small farm. Here are some of the things I learned along the way.
1. Find a Quality Farm/Rural Land Real Estate Agent
Many real estate agents are knowledgeable only about city property and turnkey house buying, so find an agent who knows about farming and the details that are important like soil types and water rights. A good real estate agent will take the time to seek out critical information and guide you in decisions regarding zoning, easements and other complicated issues. Rural real estate is complex, so finding a good agent experienced in land purchasing is a necessary investment.
2. Proximity to Markets
How close is the farm to your local markets and distribution channels? If you have to drive fifty miles before you reach your local farmers' market, is it worth the cost, energy and time associated with the distance? Are there other farms in your neighborhood that also have to make the commute?
3. Land History-Cultural and Physical
What sort of people lived on the land and what are the stories associated with the buildings? For instance, our farm is the location of an old ghost town, an early stopping place for horse teams that found its place in our pasture and on our hills. See if you can find out about the previous land management practices. From a local neighbor, we learned the history of the water usage, flood irrigation, cattle and hay ground. As well, scratched into a cabinet door in the barn, we found an old recipe for mixing DDT-"good for lice and flies." The stories we inherit with the land influence the way we engage with it.
4. Infrastructure
Is there a barn or other outbuildings on the property? Does the farm come with any equipment or fencing? It is important to know what your investment will be once you buy the place, i.e. will you have to fence the pastures or build a barn? Our farm came with fenced pastures, a barn, irrigation pumps and seasoned firewood. These are all assets to your new home and workplace.
5. Site Evaluation
If possible, visit the farm a couple of times while in escrow to evaluate the site for your farming purposes. Check the slopes on the land, which will in turn affect your management options. Does the farm have good sunlight exposure? Is the farm located in a high valley that has its own microclimate? What about flood zones? If you are thinking you want to grow fruits or vegetables, you'll want to know that you have solid ground with access to full sunlight for production of your crops.
6. Easements/Encumbrances
Make sure you read the entire title report and the full attachments that go along with it. Get your title officer to explain any incongruities. After reading through our title report, we found a number of confusing easements included with the land that required review by a lawyer. Typical easements include road, power and irrigation easements. Know who can come onto your property and to what extent. Hire a lawyer if need be. The fewer surprises you have after you close, the better.
7. Neighbors
Neighbors are an important asset to country living. Make sure you try to meet your neighbors beforehand, if possible, and get on good footing before you buy. A neighbor who does not like you from the beginning will end up being a thorn in your side. On the contrary, a good neighbor is indispensable in the rural setting. There will be times when you need them.
8. Tax Status & Zoning
What are your property taxes per year? What is the farm's zoning class? We ran into big problems on this front. According to local zoning laws, our farm is exclusive farm use, which means the farm falls into a special tax assessment program, which has us paying less property tax per year than other properties. This special tax, of course, is dependent upon active farming. Unfortunately, the previous landowner had stopped farming the property and the farm fell out of the tax program. We can reapply for the special tax assessment as long as we prove that we are farming the property once again. In general, it is tough to permanently lose the special farm tax status unless some drastic changes were to occur on your land. The lesson is to check in with your county tax assessor to see where you stand and know the limitations for development or use depending on your zoning status.
9. Soils
Accessing your soils information before closing on the farm is also a good idea. The NRCS web soil survey is available online and is very easy to use. You can type in the farm's site address and bring up an aerial map of the property. From there, you can view all sorts of information related to your soils including classification, type, drainage class, and yield data for various crops and livestock (hay, animal units per acre, vegetables, etc.). It is a tremendous resource and important to know what your soil limitations may be before buying your land. Also, if you are interested in organic production, it would be wise to test your soil for residues and other heavy metals that may inhibit your ability to grow organically. This can be expensive but worth the investment.
10. Water
If you plan on farming, this is by far the most important resource to consider before you buy a farm. Water rights law is very complex and making sure you understand your rights and usage is extremely critical. Talk with the water master in your county. Read the water certificate and understand what it means in terms of usage of water and area allowed for irrigation. Know if you rights are currently valid and active. Landowners must irrigate at least once every five years in order to retain the validity of their rights. Also, what are the water sources on your property? Do you have an irrigation ditch and an association that manages the water? It is also important to know what year your rights date back to. Senior water rights always get the water first. Do you have ponds, creeks, or wells that you are legally able to irrigate from? Many landowners do not know that you can only irrigate up to a ½ acre from your well for residential purposes only. Also, what is your drinking water source? If from a well, test your water for metals and other contaminants. Your water may be high in lead or arsenic and treatment may be necessary. By far, the most common problem in rural real estate transactions is when a buyer does not understand the complexity of water law.
In general, do your homework. Use your state and county resources and be willing to spend some extra time and money for peace of mind. Knowledge is everything.
At this point it is a matter of state sovereignty and security to stop allowing global corporations to drain these aquifers.
Real water filtration systems must be built and those corporations draining our aquifers should be glad to help pay to build this infrastructure.
Right now global pols are simply telling citizens they have to buy all kinds of home water filtration/well water filtration when we must be building these huge public systems at the source of water---whether coming to our homes or being used for irrigation. As you see below----global pols will first allow corporations to contaminate our water and then charge citizens to build their own protection. We need the state and city to fund these structures and corporations contributing to this get to help.
Water Filtration Systems Guys
Call Today!
Water Filtration in Toms River, NJ
Global warming
With the environment and global warming becoming an increasingly prevalent issue more and more people are considering the effect all this pollution has on their family and home. In no one aspect is there more of an adverse affect than the water that flows into our home each day. 800-619-9450
Our existenceWater is a central part of our existence we wash with it, bathe with it, cook with, clean with it, play in it and most significantly, we consume it. Many people think that by adding a Water Filtration system to their kitchen sink they are solving the problem. However, considering all of the other uses we have for water in our lives it shouldn't be surprising to learn that experts recommend we filter all the water that comes into our home.
Prevent contaminated
Fortunately, there are Water Filtration systems that help us cover all of our bases and prevent contaminated water from reaching our loved ones. Options in advanced Water Filtration range from a whole house Water Filtration system to a simple water bottle filter.
We are standing by, 800-619-9450.
Whole Home Water Filtration supplied by Water Filtration Systems Guys in Toms River, NJ
Whole home Water Filtration systems are the perfect way to eliminate harmful contaminated water from getting into your home for good. These Water Filtration systems are installed at the point in which your water enters your home. This means that the water delivered to all of your showers, faucets and appliance will be squeaky clean.
Although these Water Filtration units may be more costly to initially invest in they are far more economical long-term. The filters on whole home Water Filtration systems last years rather than months and replacement filters are typically purchased at a nominal fee.
Once you get over the cost of the initial unit and installation the longevity of the system pays for itself in the quantity of clean water it will provide.
Shower Water Filtration and Sink Water Filtration installed by Water Filtration Systems Guys in Toms River, NJ
Many of the harmful chemicals in water can dry out or hair and skin. For this reason, many people use a shower Water Filtration system to remove chemicals like, chlorine, VOCs, THM's and to restore pH balance to shower water.
These systems attach directly to your shower and provide a continuous stream of healthier less harmful water in Toms River, NJ.
The most common place to install a Water Filtration system is on or under the kitchen sink. Faucet mount Water Filtration is cost effective and it covers the most essential aspect of Water Filtration and that is cleaning the water in which we consume.
Using one of these systems ensure that our family is not consuming harmful toxins like, lead, chlorine, pesticides, herbicides, waste pharmaceuticals and many others. Additionally, it helps reduce the amount of chlorine resistant parasites that easily pass through our water company’s filtration efforts.
On the Go Water Filtration
Once you begin to protect your family from these harmful contaminants you will want to ensure they are protected everywhere they go. Many people buy a filtering water bottle to accomplish this. This ensures that whether you are drinking at school, work or while you are traveling you are protected.
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While fracking corporations and others are now still using massive amounts of our fresh water aquifers---that does not even include global water bottle corporations-----global pols are telling citizens to prepare to drink recycled waste water-----they are not stopping the drainage from our aquifers---they are simply building structures for citizens that include importing water, desalination, recycled waste water. Maryland is so corporate that it passed the RAIN TAX and targeted it at homeowners and small businesses as it allows huge corporate retail with massive parking lots go without paying. Very little has come from the impervious surface laws in Baltimore. I watched as a school athletic court next to me was repaved and I could not interject with the contractor-----all decisions were made---and they resurfaced it in a way that has rain water flooding beds and sidewalks as it rushes to storm drains----all lost to what could have been rainwater capture structures that are not hard or expensive to do----ALL IGNORED WITH ALMOST ALL DEVELOPMENT IN BALTIMORE.
Large volumes of reclaimed water, which has undergone advanced secondary treatment, are reused through land-based applications in a 40-square-mile area near Orlando, Florida.
Credit: Water Conserv II
Land cover: Some land covers have a great impact on infiltration and rainfall runoff. Vegetation can slow the movement of runoff, allowing more time for it to seep into the ground. Impervious surfaces, such as parking lots, roads, and developments, act as a "fast lane" for rainfall - right into storm drains that drain directly into streams. Agriculture and the tillage of land also changes the infiltration patterns of a landscape. Water that, in natural conditions, infiltrated directly into soil now runs off into streams.
Raise your hand if you know that making Port of Baltimore a crude oil and natural gas export terminal with huge trailings of underground pipeline will end in spills, leaks, and a few decades will not be repaired and maintained just as our water pipeline was ignored? Already in states out WEST having allowed this a few decades ago citizens are filled with all kinds of complaints, safety issues, and of course----ground water and well water contamination. WE ALREADY KNOW THIS and yet, Maryland Assembly and Baltimore City Hall is moving all this as hard as they can---Baltimore pols the most as they are working for Wall Street Baltimore Development and Johns Hopkins major shareholders in corporations exporting crude oil and natural gas.
A MAYOR OF BALTIMORE WOULD NOT HAVE GLOBAL HIGHSTAR INVESTMENT FIRM WITH IVY LEAGUE ENDOWMENTS AS MAJOR SHAREHOLDERS CONTROLLING ALL THESE POLICIES IN BALTIMORE.
Below you see for whom who Baltimore City pols work
Look at this op-ed in Baltimore Sun where we are told exporting natural gas is our future----that is what third world nations do as their future----developed nations CONSERVE THEIR NATURAL RESOURCES. For this discussion it is the environmental damage to our fresh water ----ground water/river water/well water that will come with ramping up this natural gas exportation. O'Malley and Maryland Assembly pols championed this using the same talking points as below because they are Wall Street global corporate neo-liberals and NOT DEMOCRATS.
Liquefied natural gas exports are key to America's future
November 21, 2013In a recent opinion piece, Chesapeake Climate Action Network's James McGarry grossly mischaracterized recent studies on liquefied natural gas exports ("Exporting natural gas is a bad deal for Maryland," Nov. 12).
In reality, countless studies support LNG exports.
In particular, a U.S. Department of Energy study, compiled by NERA Consulting, found that LNG exports will result in "net benefits to the U.S. economy" and that "consumers, in aggregate, are better off as a result of LNG exports."
Each LNG export terminal is a multibillion-dollar investment that not only creates construction jobs but permanent jobs throughout the value chain. According to a study from ICF International, employment from LNG exports is expected to create between 73,100 and 452,300 jobs nationwide between 2016 and 2035. That means jobs for steel workers, turbine manufacturers, pipe fitters and others, which will help communities across the entire United States.
In a follow up study, ICF International revealed the expected economic impacts from LNG exports on Maryland. By 2035, depending on the level of LNG exports from Maryland, the study indicates that between 480 to 9,500 jobs will be created and income for the state and its residents will increase by between $100 million and $1.6 billion.
Given the scale of this possible job creation and economic growth, it's no surprise that the boards of commissioners from both Calvert and St. Mary's counties support Dominion's Cove Point facility in Southern Maryland. It's also not surprising that the project has the support of labor unions and small business owners in the area.
The U.S. has an abundant and growing supply of natural gas, and thus ample resources to meet all domestic needs and still export a small percentage of its gas for decades to come. In fact, the National Association of Manufacturers has stressed that export restrictions, including on LNG, would "have far-reaching negative effects on the United States and should be rejected."
In addition to its economic benefits, natural gas also advances environmental goals. In fact, increased natural gas use across the country is largely responsible for U.S. carbon emissions falling 3.8 percent last year, to 1994 levels, and is considered an important part of our national agenda for addressing climate concerns.
Supplying American LNG to our trading partners abroad would also help reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, since natural gas is the cleanest burning fossil fuel and an important complement to renewable sources of power.
There is no question that U.S. LNG exports could be one of our country's greatest contributions to improving the global environment while also creating jobs here at home.
Bill Cooper
The writer is president of the Center for Liquefied Natural Gas.
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I wanted to share a good FB comment on this fresh water issue as it extends to our public schools. Now remember many fresh food venues are tied to our public schools and where do they get their water? Because Baltimore City Hall pols work for Wall Street Baltimore Development and a very, very, very neo-conservative Johns Hopkins-----public school pipelines won't be fixed unless you are in the Enterprise Zones----and then only as a community in city center is slated for that development.
The Mayor of Baltimore will make critical decisions as Federal funds for infrastructure are sent----and establishment candidates are all highlighted by Baltimore Development and its major election forum venues because----these pols will continue to allow all revenue to go to all global corporations attached to each of Baltimore City's agencies---including our Baltimore Public Works/Water
Tom "Class Action Lawsuit"?
Tom Cindy Walsh, What about this issue, Cindy Walsh?...Actually both issues...Are Baltimore City Residents subsidizing Baltimore Co. Residents Water Costs?
Cindy Walsh Tom----both county and city citizens are being fleeced by decades of water bill payments with all the revenue misappropriated away from maintaining this water system for both counties. This design of shared access hails to days before Baltimore City was carved out as a separate incorporated city I assume. Most of the water coming to Baltimore comes from the rivers----the Susquehanna River for example with rain/snow filling reservoirs so there is little cost outside of moving it and filtering systems recycling it. You can imagine how many millions of ratepayers paided all that money for decades with this little of operational costs. As we rebuild this water and sewage pipeline it really will not impact Baltimore City citizens to have those pipes in Baltimore County done as well----they paid those same water bills as we did.
Cindy Walsh The class action lawsuits center on lead in pipes and the chronic disregard of Baltimore City Hall in addressing these issues as they sent over a trillion dollars in Federal, state, and local revenue these few decades to build corporate campuses and grow a few corporations globally. Suing the city for lead would do two things----it would allow court rulings to focus revenue on actually addressing these problems-----and it would place that emphasis ahead of current global corporate campus building. If you know the Master Plan is having Baltimore as an International Economic Zone surrounded by global corporate campuses and global factories---you understand why they are not rebuilding our entire system for the communities as they exist. This is the critical issue in this 2016 election---rebuilding each community as is or advancing global corporate campus development---and that will drive water and sewage upgrades.
Humberto
On the dl they sold the city's water right to what was once veolia, now transdev
Cindy Walsh Humberto, you are on to them! Only global VEOLA in the US was broken into two global corporations----VEOLA ENVIRONMENT for water and sewage privatization and VEOLA TRANSPORTATION for privatizing our public transportation. I have not seen official documents to know what Baltimore City Public Works contracts detail to VEOLA Environment but usually it sends all revenue from our water bills to them to then do as they want---and that has meant using revenue to rebuild water pipes as they build new global corporate campuses and Enterprise Zones.
Water from a fountain? Not in Baltimore city schools
For years city schools have hauled in plastic water containers to provide safe drinking water for students. Fixing the problem would mean replacing all the water pipes, costing millions per school. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun video)
Liz BowieContact ReporterThe Baltimore Sun
Baltimore City students still drinking bottled water nearly a decade after a lead scare.At Cecil Elementary School in Baltimore, where bone-dry water fountains stand next to brimming water coolers, several third-graders who've never drunk from the fountains puzzled over why they didn't work.
Maybe the fountains need batteries and they don't have them, one student said. Maybe the pipes are clogged, another suggested.
"We have always wondered about that water fountain," said Alexandria Francis, who along with her classmates had no clue that administrators have shut down fountains throughout the Baltimore City school system to protect kids from getting lead poisoning.
Signs over bathroom sinks telling students not to drink the water at Cecil Elementary School. Cecil Elementary School has been using bottled water to drink for years. Long before Flint Michigan's tainted water became a national issue, Baltimore city schools found the same problem in some of its buildings and shut off the water. For nearly the past decade, kids have been drinking bottled water.
(Lloyd Fox / Baltimore Sun)More than a decade before lead-tainted drinking water in Flint, Mich., became a national scandal, Baltimore schools found the metal in drinking water, shut down water fountains and brought in bottled water. School officials have struggled since with the inconvenience of hauling big plastic water containers, handing out and collecting small paper cups, and limiting sink use to hand washing.
Those problems, education advocates say, would never have been allowed to continue in wealthier school districts with more resources to rip out pipes and provide safe tap water. In cash-strapped Baltimore, no plan exists to renovate all city schools and remove and replace lead pipes. Students will continue to get bottled water from water coolers at most schools.
"It is the best option we have for providing clean drinking water for our kids," said J. Keith Scroggins, the chief operating officer.
A package of legislation introduced in Congress in February by Sen. Ben Cardin could provide funds for city schools to replace pipes, though its chances are uncertain in the Republican-controlled Senate.
BEN CARDIN KNOWS BALTIMORE CITY DOES NOT NEED TO WAIT FOR CONGRESSIONAL FUNDING----WE HAVE HAD THE REVENUE SOURCES IN BALTIMORE FOR DECADES!
The legislation is aimed at improving municipal water systems in the wake of Flint, but the Maryland Democrat said he hopes money to fix school pipes could come through a state revolving fund if the legislation passes and the funds are appropriated.
Fixing the problem in Baltimore — replacing all the water pipes in a school — would cost millions per school, Scroggins said. By comparison, the school system now spends $450,000 a year supplying bottled water to all but six of its 180 schools.
The problem will be fixed over time, Scroggins said, as schools are renovated or rebuilt during the next decades. The city will begin breaking ground at several schools in coming months as part of a $1 billion school construction plan that will replace or renovate between 23 and 28 schools in the next four years. Those schools will join six schools that have been built in the past decade that don't have lead-tainted water problems.
Cheryl Miles, a pre-K teacher at Cecil Elementary, helps Izaynah Council, left, and Derrick Swann, right, as they get water from the water cooler. Cecil Elementary has been using bottled water to drink for years. Long before Flint Michigan's tainted water became a national issue, Baltimore city schools found the same problem in some of its buildings and shut off the water. For nearly the past decade, kids have been drinking bottled water and there are signs over bathroom sinks telling students not to drink the water.
(Lloyd Fox / Baltimore Sun)
But even after about $1 billion is spent, more than 100 schools will continue using bottled water.
Baltimore's water supply is considered among the highest-quality in the nation, but the pipes within schools are the problem.
Jason Botel, a former principal at KIPP Ujima Village Academy middle school, sometimes had to carry the large barrel-like bottles on his shoulder to place them around the school. He also had to find the best way to distribute and collect hundreds of little paper cups each day.
"If the elevator went down, then it meant carrying those big heavy Deer Park water bottles," Botel said. "It was diverting energy away from teaching and learning. ... There was a lot of work making sure there were enough recycling and trash cans" for the paper cups.
Cecil Elementary's cafeteria uses very little water because it doesn't prepare school lunches on site. Each lunch comes in a plastic foam container in which it is warmed up and served to students. Tap water is used to wipe down the cafeteria tables and stainless-steel surfaces. Signs above the sinks in the bathrooms warn students and faculty that the water is for hand washing only.
Most other schools in the Baltimore area don't have the same lead infrastructure problems.
"In most communities around the country we have to acknowledge that this would not be acceptable," said Botel, now the executive director of MarylandCan, an education advocacy organization.
Nonetheless, Botel said, the decision to shut down the water fountains more than a decade ago was warranted and kept students safe, and the bottled water solution is an effective one. He and school officials agree that the inconvenience of drinking bottled water is just one of the many facilities problems that plague city schools.
Classrooms in dozens of schools, for instance, are either too hot or too cold because of the lack of air-conditioning and old heating systems that are not easily regulated. The air problems exacerbate asthma conditions and make it hard for students to concentrate on classwork — two issues that some teachers and parents find more concerning than having to use bottled water.
"I honestly prefer the bottled water because it is safer and clean," said Aisha Robinson, the mother of Alexandria, the third-grader at Cecil. "I am scared for my child to drink tap water."
Second grade students in Toni Patton's enrichment class work on a project determining where spring water comes from.
(Algerina Perna / Baltimore Sun)Health and safety must come first, said Frank Patinella at the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland, which has advocated for additional funding to repair and replace city schools.
"The school system has made the right choice in purchasing bottled water," he said. "Given the many dozens of urgent repairs needed each year — fixing leaking roofs, updating fire alarm systems and keeping the heat on — there is not enough funding to replace old lead pipes in over a hundred schools in the city."
Nearly a generation of children has grown up drinking water from paper cups at school, said Roxanne Forr, principal of Cecil Elementary.
"It is all the kids know," she said. "That is the only way they have ever gotten water."
Forr said the district's central office provides ample supplies of water and everyone has adjusted over the years. She believes the school's tap water is probably safe to drink. The school was renovated some years ago, and she knows of no test that showed unsafe lead levels when the water was regularly tested a decade ago.
Still, as a precaution, the school system will continue using bottled water for all but the most recently renovated schools.
Lead was first discovered in city schools in the early 1990s, when school officials ordered that water from fountains and sinks be tested. Those with unsafe lead levels were turned off and water coolers were installed. School officials weren't vigilant, however, and the water was turned back on at some schools.
Enter James Williams in 2003. A parent advocate whose son suffered lead paint poisoning a decade earlier, Williams began a one-man crusade to prove the water in schools was tainted by lead. He visited schools, had the water tested, and presented the results to the school board.
His findings alarmed board members, and soon the city Health Department was testing the water and shutting down school water supplies. At first, health officials ordered just the water sources with high lead levels shut down, but in 2007 city schools chief Andrés Alonso decided that annual water tests were too expensive and that it would be cheaper to turn off the drinking water in all schools and provide bottled water.
The test results at the time showed higher-than-acceptable lead levels from some water sources that had been deemed safe.
Although the issue of lead was lost on the third-graders at Cecil Elementary, Alexandria Francis and her classmates debated the pros and cons of water coolers versus fountains.
If they turned the water back on, Alexandria said, "that would save money."
"What if they had a recycling bin" for the paper cups? Kamurie Corprew asked.
"If we save money, we save trees," Alexandria said.
They decided they liked the idea of working fountains, and classmate Brielle Bowles pointed out that the savings could be spent on field trips and extra supplies for their classroom.
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I like this Maryland agency---it seems to actually produce data that is public interest and yet it is being defunded and our Baltimore City branch is threatened with remaining open.
Baltimore Development's Master Plan is steeped on building a huge global city with so much global corporate campus and global factory presence as to ask-----building density at a time our natural resources are stressed including fresh water? REALLY???????
This is a good assessment of our fresh water problems and I have shouted this for years---DO YOU HEAR ANY CANDIDATE FOR MAYOR OF BALTIMORE TALKING ABOUT THIS?
Please take time to glance through to see where the problems are and realize that when Wall Street global pols look at these problems they are looking how to protect a global corporation and its fresh water needs and not our individual citizens and communities.
Is Maryland's Groundwater in Jeopardy?
Maryland Geological Survey
Critical Questions
These are questions commonly asked about the groundwater resources in Maryland. The answers vary by aquifer and location across the State. Some aquifers and locations likely have a plentiful supply of groundwater of good quality to meet current demands as well as future growth, while groundwater supply in other aquifers and locations may be greatly limited and of poor quality. Answering these questions requires effective monitoring, critical scientific investigations, and a comprehensive regional groundwater-flow and management model.Why is Groundwater So Important?
Groundwater is nearly the sole source of fresh drinking water in Maryland's Coastal Plain (the area east of I-95). Approximately 1.4 million people rely on groundwater in the Coastal Plain. While ground water is not used as much as surface water as a water source, some towns and most domestic users in central and western Maryland also rely heavily on groundwater. A sustainable supply of clean drinking water is crucial to the health and well-being of the citizens of Maryland, in addition to a strong economic future for the State. Aside from being a crucial drinking water source, groundwater is also important for irrigation, commercial and industrial uses, and power plants. Because groundwater supplies water to streams and rivers, it is vitally important for sustaining healthy populations of fish and other aquatic organisms.
Problems Confronting Groundwater Management in Maryland
Groundwater supply in Maryland may be severely constrained in some areas in the future as a result of overuse of the aquifers and by poor water quality. Permitted withdrawals are assessed on an individual permit (well or well field) basis, while there is no systematic assessment of the effects from domestic withdrawals. Currently, the cumulative impact of the many thousands of wells pumping from Maryland's aquifers, or the extent to which the aquifers are being recharged (Coastal Plain region), is not being assessed. Additionally, water-level and water-quality monitoring to evaluate the health of the aquifers is inadequate in some areas.
SPECIFIC PROBLEMS BY REGION
Possible Consequences
If the current management system continues without the necessary tools and monitoring to effectively evaluate groundwater availability and quality, negative effects may occur, including
- Well failures (dry holes)
- High economic costs resulting from shifting pumpage to deeper aquifers or developing alternate water supplies (surface-water reservoirs, desalinization, reclaimed wastewater)
- Salt-water intrusion
- Water-use restrictions
- Land subsidence
- Loss of stream habitat
- Degradation of aquatic life
The Maryland Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey and the Maryland Department of the Environment, began a comprehensive investigation of Maryland's groundwater resources as part of the 2008 Governors Advisory Committee on the Management and Protection of the State’s Water Resources ("Wolman" report) recommendations. The report recommended a more robust water resources program based on sound, comprehensive data, adequate and reliable funding, programmatic and information needs, and implementation of specific legislative, regulatory, and programmatic changes. On the science side, the report recommended establishing a broader and more targeted network of monitoring wells, fully funding major hydrologic studies in both the Coastal Plain and Fractured Rock areas of the State, and improving analytical tools (groundwater-flow models) for predicting the impacts of well withdrawals. The initiative has produced a digital aquifer information system that greatly improves access to critical information. The system is currently used by MDE for assessing water-allocation permits. It is crucial that the full effort be completed so that Maryland can effectively sustain its vital groundwater supplies.
READ MORE ABOUT THE SCIENCE NEEDED TO PROTECT MARYLAND'S GROUNDWATER RESOURCE
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Below we see the basics of any farm and the considerations and these issues include urban farming. Zoning is a huge issue as I included in my discussion around wealth and global corporate land grabs-----but any candidate who does not KNOW farming---agriculture and animal husbandry but simply shouts for tilapia farms and roof-top gardens is not going to know what public policy issues surround creating a fresh food economy in each community.
Talking points are the opposite of KNOWING PUBLIC POLICY.
'10. Water
If you plan on farming, this is by far the most important resource to consider before you buy a farm. Water rights law is very complex and making sure you understand your rights and usage is extremely critical. Talk with the water master in your county. Read the water certificate and understand what it means in terms of usage of water and area allowed for irrigation. Know if you rights are currently valid and active. Landowners must irrigate at least once every five years in order to retain the validity of their rights. Also, what are the water sources on your property? Do you have an irrigation ditch and an association that manages the water? It is also important to know what year your rights date back to. Senior water rights always get the water first. Do you have ponds, creeks, or wells that you are legally able to irrigate from? Many landowners do not know that you can only irrigate up to a ½ acre from your well for residential purposes only. Also, what is your drinking water source? If from a well, test your water for metals and other contaminants. Your water may be high in lead or arsenic and treatment may be necessary. By far, the most common problem in rural real estate transactions is when a buyer does not understand the complexity of water law.
In general, do your homework. Use your state and county resources and be willing to spend some extra time and money for peace of mind. Knowledge is everything'.
Top Ten Things I Learned Buying a Small Farm
Melissa Matthewson
Publish Date:
Winter 2007
VolNo:
Vol. I No.1
Most recently, my husband and I purchased a small farm in southern Oregon-ten acres in the Applegate Valley, a mixture of pasture, woodland, hills and weeds. We were delighted when we went into escrow and could not wait to be on the land mapping out our ideas and dreams. We did not expect the process to take six months and turn into an arduous and exhausting real estate bonanza.
Despite the work it took to land the property and receive the warranty deed in the mail, I have learned a tremendous amount about buying a small farm and in turn, it has helped in my work as a small farm extension agent. Many of the inquiries I receive are from people who are interested in buying a farm (or who already own one) and they do not have the knowledge necessary to make appropriate decisions. Now, I have experience and knowledge to draw on when I give advice. I was in the same boat as many new landowners when I started, but it was only because of due diligence that we were able to work out many of the hidden challenges that went along with buying a small farm. Here are some of the things I learned along the way.
1. Find a Quality Farm/Rural Land Real Estate Agent
Many real estate agents are knowledgeable only about city property and turnkey house buying, so find an agent who knows about farming and the details that are important like soil types and water rights. A good real estate agent will take the time to seek out critical information and guide you in decisions regarding zoning, easements and other complicated issues. Rural real estate is complex, so finding a good agent experienced in land purchasing is a necessary investment.
2. Proximity to Markets
How close is the farm to your local markets and distribution channels? If you have to drive fifty miles before you reach your local farmers' market, is it worth the cost, energy and time associated with the distance? Are there other farms in your neighborhood that also have to make the commute?
3. Land History-Cultural and Physical
What sort of people lived on the land and what are the stories associated with the buildings? For instance, our farm is the location of an old ghost town, an early stopping place for horse teams that found its place in our pasture and on our hills. See if you can find out about the previous land management practices. From a local neighbor, we learned the history of the water usage, flood irrigation, cattle and hay ground. As well, scratched into a cabinet door in the barn, we found an old recipe for mixing DDT-"good for lice and flies." The stories we inherit with the land influence the way we engage with it.
4. Infrastructure
Is there a barn or other outbuildings on the property? Does the farm come with any equipment or fencing? It is important to know what your investment will be once you buy the place, i.e. will you have to fence the pastures or build a barn? Our farm came with fenced pastures, a barn, irrigation pumps and seasoned firewood. These are all assets to your new home and workplace.
5. Site Evaluation
If possible, visit the farm a couple of times while in escrow to evaluate the site for your farming purposes. Check the slopes on the land, which will in turn affect your management options. Does the farm have good sunlight exposure? Is the farm located in a high valley that has its own microclimate? What about flood zones? If you are thinking you want to grow fruits or vegetables, you'll want to know that you have solid ground with access to full sunlight for production of your crops.
6. Easements/Encumbrances
Make sure you read the entire title report and the full attachments that go along with it. Get your title officer to explain any incongruities. After reading through our title report, we found a number of confusing easements included with the land that required review by a lawyer. Typical easements include road, power and irrigation easements. Know who can come onto your property and to what extent. Hire a lawyer if need be. The fewer surprises you have after you close, the better.
7. Neighbors
Neighbors are an important asset to country living. Make sure you try to meet your neighbors beforehand, if possible, and get on good footing before you buy. A neighbor who does not like you from the beginning will end up being a thorn in your side. On the contrary, a good neighbor is indispensable in the rural setting. There will be times when you need them.
8. Tax Status & Zoning
What are your property taxes per year? What is the farm's zoning class? We ran into big problems on this front. According to local zoning laws, our farm is exclusive farm use, which means the farm falls into a special tax assessment program, which has us paying less property tax per year than other properties. This special tax, of course, is dependent upon active farming. Unfortunately, the previous landowner had stopped farming the property and the farm fell out of the tax program. We can reapply for the special tax assessment as long as we prove that we are farming the property once again. In general, it is tough to permanently lose the special farm tax status unless some drastic changes were to occur on your land. The lesson is to check in with your county tax assessor to see where you stand and know the limitations for development or use depending on your zoning status.
9. Soils
Accessing your soils information before closing on the farm is also a good idea. The NRCS web soil survey is available online and is very easy to use. You can type in the farm's site address and bring up an aerial map of the property. From there, you can view all sorts of information related to your soils including classification, type, drainage class, and yield data for various crops and livestock (hay, animal units per acre, vegetables, etc.). It is a tremendous resource and important to know what your soil limitations may be before buying your land. Also, if you are interested in organic production, it would be wise to test your soil for residues and other heavy metals that may inhibit your ability to grow organically. This can be expensive but worth the investment.
10. Water
If you plan on farming, this is by far the most important resource to consider before you buy a farm. Water rights law is very complex and making sure you understand your rights and usage is extremely critical. Talk with the water master in your county. Read the water certificate and understand what it means in terms of usage of water and area allowed for irrigation. Know if you rights are currently valid and active. Landowners must irrigate at least once every five years in order to retain the validity of their rights. Also, what are the water sources on your property? Do you have an irrigation ditch and an association that manages the water? It is also important to know what year your rights date back to. Senior water rights always get the water first. Do you have ponds, creeks, or wells that you are legally able to irrigate from? Many landowners do not know that you can only irrigate up to a ½ acre from your well for residential purposes only. Also, what is your drinking water source? If from a well, test your water for metals and other contaminants. Your water may be high in lead or arsenic and treatment may be necessary. By far, the most common problem in rural real estate transactions is when a buyer does not understand the complexity of water law.
In general, do your homework. Use your state and county resources and be willing to spend some extra time and money for peace of mind. Knowledge is everything.
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