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The Division of Water and Sewer Utilities (DWSU) has an approved Capital Improvement Program (CIP) project list for the next 6 years which includes water and sewer projects and solid waste projects. These projects involve:
The CIP projects are typically designed via contracts with private engineering consultants. In many instances, these engineering contracts are coordinated for various local, state and federal approvals.
Project management focuses primarily on the quality, cost and schedule of each CIP project. Certain projects require significant public involvement and are coordinated by each respective project manager in the department.
These technical reviews require a detailed understanding of the water and sewer infrastructure components and the inter dependency of the demands made by the developments, which ultimately impact the County’s ability to consistently deliver adequate water and sewer services. In the DWSU’s case, the Planning and Design Review section must review for compliance with the APFO for water and sewer.
A water or wastewater system is considered adequate if remaining capacity exists after an accounting considers all existing connections, future connections from buildings under construction, recorded lots for which allocations have been made, or other legal commitments. Additionally, an accounting of reserved capacities pertaining to state and/or local laws and certain legal commitments by the County (i.e., public works agreements, multi-year tap agreements, etc.), must be carefully tracked to avoid over-allocating the infrastructure.
All public water and sewer infrastructure entails DWSU review and approval of legal documents that provide perpetual ownership (or property rights) for its infrastructure, either required by the developer or via a CIP project. Because the legal documents are recorded among the Land Records of Frederick County, careful coordination and review is required between many County agencies, most importantly the Office of the County Attorney.
The DWSU’s Planning and Design Review section typically must coordinate the improvement plan design with the easement/real property submissions and final plats of subdivision. Sample easement documents and instructions can be found within the ’Forms & Reference’ tab on this page.
The public oftentimes has questions about the location and planning of the water and sewer infrastructure. Property owners, real estate agents, developers, assessors, attorneys, engineers and surveyors, to name a few, have a wide range of questions that pertain to public water and sewer service. Generally, the DWSU’s Planning and Design Review section provides service inquiry letters for properties planned (or served) by public water and sewer. In order to provide this letter, the following information is necessary:
To submit your information online, please complete the Request for Information Regarding Connection to County Water and/or Sewer and a staff member will respond to your request in writing.
The DWSU does not address questions regarding storm water management, storm drains, ditches or other "water" like uses. These questions should be directed to the Planning and Permitting Division or appropriate municipal/state agencies.
Please note: Municipal water and sewer requests should be made to the respective jurisdiction.
Design and Construction
Easements
Public Works Agreements (PWA)
Public Improvements Agreements (PIA)
Grinder Pump Installations
Additional Developer Funded Construction Project Forms
Miscellaneous