​​Introduction and What’s New in this Guidance​

​The Water Resources Element (WRE), a statutory requirement for local comprehensive plans, is designed to ensure that local plans for growth and development can be supported given limitations and constraints of water resources and water, sewer and stormwater infrastructure. 

Local governments should complete the WRE in order to identify and analyze locally specific water-related limitations and to put forward strategies and recommendations for addressing them. Doing so will ensure that local water resources and infrastructure can adequately support local plans for growth and development. 

This update to the state’s WRE Guidance provides best practices regarding analyses and approaches for:

1. ensuring receiving waters are protected as the local land use plan is developed and implemented, reflecting changes to the Maryland Department of the Environment’s (MDE) water resources programs over the past decade; and
2. integrating climate change considerations, particularly flooding risks, into the drinking water, wastewater and stormwater assessments of the WRE.

The WRE is instrumental in providing a sound foundation to implement smart growth and climate resiliency throughout the state. The WRE should describe how water supplies, wastewater effluents (wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) and onsite sewer disposal system (OSDS)) and stormwater runoff will be managed to support planned growth while also sustaining sufficient water quality (WQ) and quantity for people and ecosystems. Examples of limitations include source water supply issues, water and wastewater treatment plant capacity limits, the capacity of the stormwater system to convey runoff, and the status of efforts to achieve Water Quality Standards (WQSs) in receiving waters. Identifying these limitations (or opportunities) early in the planning process will ensure that comprehensive plans are realistic and environmentally sustainable.

Trainings and Further Development of the WRE Guidance Update

During 2022, MDE and the Maryland Department of Planning (Planning) will meet with local governments for small group training sessions and to identify, discuss and implement improvements to the WRE Guidance Update.

Checklist: Determining Whether the Local WRE Needs to be Updated

The following checklist can help local governments decide whether their existing WRE needs to be updated:

• all local jurisdictions in Maryland are and will continue to experience climate change impacts on water resources and water infrastructure (water, sewer and stormwater), as well as water impacts on communities. As a result, when the comprehensive plan is next updated, the WRE also should be updated to integrate climate change considerations. At a minimum, the WRE should be updated to include strategies focused on improving local understanding of current or expected water-related climate change impacts at the local level, and if sufficient information exists, the WRE should add strategies to address these impacts.
• if the local government has determined that there is significant new information concerning water resource availability, water resource impacts, receiving water status (e.g., a new Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), declining trends in water quality or Tier II water designation), or water infrastructure impacts, then the WRE should be updated to recognize and respond to these issues. The best practice is to update the WRE as soon as possible in order to determine whether an amended land use plan or other new strategies are needed.
• if a proposed amended land use plan will result in water/sewer demand and/or stormwater runoff impacts that are different enough to warrant revised WRE strategies, then the WRE should be updated at the same time as the land use plan to indicate the changed demand and impacts and to outline the WRE strategies needed to support the amended land use plan. For water and sewer demand specifically, land use plans that are expected to exceed 80% of the available wastewater or water appropriation capacity should update the WRE.
• if the land use changes are planned in a watershed(s) prone to riverine, coastal or urban flooding, then when the comprehensive plan is next updated, the WRE should be revised to incorporate the flooding-related components of this guidance​. At a minimum, the WRE should indicate the extent of current local knowledge concerning flood-prone areas and should discuss whether implementation of the land use plan will increase, decrease or have no effect on those flood-prone areas. If the local government does not know what type of impact implementation of the land use plan will have on flood-prone areas, then at a minimum, the WRE should call for a study to determine this. 

Why this WRE Update? Why update local WREs? 

This WRE Guidance Update is needed to respond to substantial changes to Maryland’s water resource and environmental management programs, as well as statutory changes concerning state agency responsibilities to integrate climate change into planning programs. 

Safe and sustainable growth and development in Maryland depends on the future availability and suitability of water resources. 

Growth and development will always challenge our collective efforts to protect and restore Maryland waterbodies. The expanded discussion and approach within this WRE Guidance Update provides best practices for addressing this challenge. 

Also, climate change impacts, such as increases in annual precipitation, heat, flooding and significant storm events, as well as coastal impacts such as sea level rise and saltwater intrusion, are already impacting local water resources, water infrastructure (water, sewer and stormwater), the health and safety of people and communities in Maryland, with increased and accelerated impacts expected into the future. Although our understanding of climate change impacts is evolving and will always remain somewhat incomplete, local governments should begin planning now to identify and address data gaps, and take actions as soon as possible to protect water resources, water infrastructure and communities as growth and development continues. This WRE Guidance Update provides best practices for considering and addressing water-related climate change impacts. 

County and municipal WREs not only assess current and future water and sewer demand and wastewater/stormwater discharge impacts resulting from implementation of the local land use plan, they also provide recommendations for ensuring that water and sewer demand can be met (e.g., through infrastructure improvements or permit changes), and for identifying methods that seek to prevent further degradation of receiving waters. This WRE Guidance Update provides a checklist to help local governments decide whether their existing WRE should be updated or not so that it continues to adequately inform the local community and local government. 

General Expectations and Technical and Financial Assistance Providers

This WRE Guidance Update provides best practices for considering and addressing water-related climate change impacts, and for addressing the challenges that growth and development pose to our collective efforts to protect and restore Maryland waterbodies. The WRE Guidance Update outlines best practices and is an advisory document. Comprehensive planning, including WRE development, is a local government decision. 

The more detailed Drinking Water Assessment and Wastewater Assessment guidelines of the 2007 WRE Model & Guidelines​ (M&G) will be updated in the future. Until that time, the Drinking Water Assessment and Wastewater Assessment guidelines of the 2007 WRE M&G should still be followed. 

The following is a checklist of general expectations for integrating climate change and identifying suitable receiving waters within the WRE: 

• MDE and Planning request that local governments meet the best practices in this WRE Guidance Update as best as they can within the limitations of cost and time.
• Ideally, local governments will complete necessary data compilation and analyses before a comprehensive plan update begins; however, when time, staff and/or financial resources are not available, the WRE should identify data gaps, issues to be addressed and needed studies and analyses, which should be completed before the subsequent comprehensive plan update. 

The following units within state government are available to assist local governments with technical assistance to complete the WRE: 

• MDE: Water and Science Administration
• Planning: Resource Conservation & Management Unit
• Department of Natural Resources (DNR): Chesapeake and Coastal Service
• DNR: Maryland Geological Survey 

In addition to providing agency-specific technical assistance, MDE and Planning will support local government efforts to obtain needed technical and/or financial assistance from watershed groups, soil conservation districts, the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) and nongovernmental organizations. 

MDE and Planning recognize that developing and updating the WRE is a significant undertaking. Certain information and analyses might not be available or feasibly completed within the timeframe for the initiation and completion of a local comprehensive plan update, including a WRE update. Ideally, local governments will complete necessary data compilation and analyses before a comprehensive plan update begins. However, when time, staff and/or financial resources are not available, the WRE should identify data gaps, issues to be addressed and needed studies and analyses, which ideally should be completed before the subsequent comprehensive plan update.