Charter Amendment Would Separate Bureau of Water and Wastewater from the Department of Public Works, Establishing New Agency To Enhance Dedicated Management, Specialized Focus, and Fiscal Stability for Residents
BALTIMORE, MD (Friday, May 29, 2026) - Today, Mayor Brandon M. Scott, in partnership with City Council President Zeke Cohen and Comptroller Bill Henry, announced the introduction of a charter amendment, sponsored by City Councilmembers Odette Ramos and Ryan Dorsey, to modernize the Baltimore region's water system governance by creating a new dedicated City agency. The charter amendment, if approved by voters in 2026, would separate the Bureau of Water and Wastewater from the larger Department of Public Works (DPW), which would strengthen the City's ability to provide dedicated management, focus, and financial tools to best serve residents across the region.
"The Baltimore region is at a pivotal moment that requires us to continue evolving and modernizing our structures to ensure our residents get the quality City services they expect and deserve," said Mayor Brandon M. Scott. "Providing safe, reliable drinking water and effective wastewater services are one of the most important and complex responsibilities of city government. Over the course of several years, we have thoughtfully studied and discussed the structure of our water utility alongside those served by the system, not just in Baltimore City but in surrounding jurisdictions. We have analyzed the future needs of our water system, and believe that establishing this new standalone agency is the best way to protect this critical city asset, while providing the tools necessary to address the future challenges that will face our region's water system. This charter amendment will outline the path forward to enhance efficient, equitable, and sustainable delivery of this essential service."
"Baltimore's water and wastewater system is one of the largest and most complex operations in city government, and residents across the region deserve a governance structure that matches that scale," said City Council President Zeke Cohen. "By establishing a dedicated agency with its own focused leadership and financial accountability, we can deliver better service, stronger oversight, and greater transparency for every ratepayer who depends on this system. I'm proud to join Mayor Scott and Comptroller Henry in bringing this reform to Baltimore voters."
"As chair of the Baltimore Regional Water Work Group, I've been looking into best practices for municipal water management and there are reasons to believe that establishing a separate Water and Wastewater Department will help bring us in line with our peer systems," said City Comptroller Bill Henry. "Just as importantly, it will help us provide better focus and communication, as well as more accountability and transparency, for all of us who rely on the City's water and sewage treatment."
DPW currently consists of two major divisions: the Bureau of Solid Waste and the Bureau of Water and Wastewater. The Bureau of Water and Wastewater is responsible for the operation of a water distribution system that supplies water to 1.8 million customers in the Baltimore metropolitan region. In FY 2027 the bureau's total operating budget was $677 million and its total capital budget was $473 million.
Establishing a separate agency to oversee the utility would provide additional tools to provide the best service to residents across the region, including enhanced transparency and strengthened regional partnerships that would accompany making the bureau its own agency. This change would also help preserve City ownership of these critical assets by making adjustments to better align with industry best practices. Water and wastewater utilities differ from other City services because they operate as enterprise systems: large-scale, industrial operations funded through ratepayer revenue and subject to strict environmental and public health regulations. Baltimore's water and wastewater systems serve not only Baltimore City, but also numerous surrounding counties. These complexities create unique operational demands that require management structures aligned with large, enterprise-level organizations rather than traditional municipal services housed in a multi-faceted agency like DPW.
An independent structure would allow for more consistent and effective revenue collection practices rather than keeping these responsibilities layered within DPW. Establishing a separate agency with its own independent financial systems would provide the tools necessary to enhance financial performance. Ultimately, these changes will help to lower borrowing costs and better promote the agency's standing with bond rating agencies.
In 2023, the Baltimore Regional Water Governance Taskforce was established by state law to recommend the best governance model for water and wastewater systems in the Baltimore region. The task force's final recommendation, released in January 2024, called for the creation of a standalone City agency to handle Water and Wastewater. The report cited the benefits of an agency with "a singular focus, and necessary resources, to effectively manage operations, maintenance, capital investment and service delivery" as well as streamlining the chain of command and attracting top talent.
"This is the best way to ensure Baltimore City ratepayers are treated the same as ratepayers outside of the City," said City Councilmember Ryan Dorsey. "Our water and wastewater system is required to be funded exclusively by billing revenue, but its general operations are mixed in with other operations within the agency. Separating these services from other City operations is the only way to ensure fair and equal treatment and cost sharing for all ratepayers."
"Separating the water and wastewater functions from the other duties of the Department of Public Works allows our City to place very focused leadership on our water and wastewater infrastructure, billing, and operational needs," said City Councilmember Odette Ramos. "This action will support our DPW workers and our systems. Baltimore's water and wastewater system was the first of its kind when it was established over 100 years ago. Modernizing means restructuring to adapt to changing needs."
This proposed change relies on lessons learned from other cities that align with national best practices. Baltimore is one of very few cities in the country that operates a utility within a larger public works department, while other cities have standalone agencies or authorities that oversee their water systems. Cities including Chicago, Denver, Phoenix, Atlanta, San Diego, and Los Angeles operate standalone municipal water departments, some of which service surrounding suburbs. Cities such as Washington, DC, and Boston operate independent water authorities. New York City operates their water utility within the Department of Environmental Protection, which focuses on environmental compliance and sustainability as part of their mission.
Additionally, Baltimore City has previously completed similar efforts to establish a bureau previously under DPW as its own agency. These efforts include reorganizing functions that were once housed within DPW into stand-alone agencies by establishing the Department of Transportation (DOT) in 2003 and the Department of General Services (DGS) in 2009. These agencies were created to align city operations with best practices nationwide and enhance operational focus, which has proved successful in the decades since those reorganizations occurred. Before the Bureau of Water and Wastewater was incorporated into DPW in 1925, it operated as the independent Water Department.
"This next stage in DPW's transformation reflects where modern public utilities are headed and where Baltimore must go to meet the demands of the future," said DPW Director Matthew Garbark. "Water and wastewater utilities today are managing increasingly complex regulatory requirements, aging infrastructure, environmental stewardship, workforce development, and long-term system resilience, all while continuing to deliver reliable essential services every single day. Establishing a dedicated Department of Water and Wastewater creates the operational focus and organizational structure needed to meet those challenges head-on, drive innovation, and position this new agency to better serve our residents for generations to come. At the same time, this transition allows the Bureau of Solid Waste to sharpen its focus on the vital quality-of-life services residents rely on every day, while advancing the City's long-term sustainability goals."
If approved by voters this fall, the proposed charter amendment would set the City on a path to establish a standalone agency with oversight and management of the water utility by the end of calendar year 2028.