Easton Utilities commission first 100 years
Easton Utilities commission first 100 years of service
Our Mission To enhance the quality of life in our community by providing reliable, competitively priced utility and communication services through skilled, safety-oriented and customer-focused employees.
Our Vision To be recognized by our community as providing unquestionable value.
Reflecting on Easton Utilities’ first century of service reminds us of the spirit of self-reliance, expectation of excellence and commitment to customer satisfaction that are the foundations upon which we are built. In the years leading up to our founding, Mayor Martin Higgins rallied our community around his firm belief that Easton deserved the very best and most modern of utility services and that they should be operated reliably and efficiently. He argued fervently that Easton should invest in utilities. In 1914, despite financial, regulatory and political hurdles, Mayor Higgins and a group of visionaries persevered, and laid the foundation of what is now an innovative, diversified, not-for-profit utility and communication company. Today, Easton Utilities remains squarely focused on our customers’ satisfaction that their expectations are being met. Our customers expect reliability. Easton Utilities continuously maintains, repairs and replaces our infrastructure to ensure reliable operations that keep outages brief and infrequent—even during hurricanes, storms and other extreme events. Our customers expect competitive prices. Easton Utilities keeps operations lean and efficient so that year-after-year our rates for benchmark services are below other regional providers—saving our community an estimated $10 million last year alone. Our customers expect safety. Easton Utilities invests in the training to ensure that we keep our staff and our customers safe. Our customers expect environmental responsibility. From our state-of-the-art wastewater treatment facility that minimizes pollutants in the Bay to purchasing electricity from renewable sources, Easton Utilities invests in a wide range of technologies and practices to minimize our environmental impact. Our customers expect community service. Easton Utilities works with dozens of organizations in the community, particularly those that enhance education for future leaders, workers and citizens in Talbot County. As a lifelong resident of Talbot County, it has been my great honor and privilege to be a part of the Easton Utilities team and I am very proud of its many accomplishments. Looking forward to the next century of service, Easton Utilities remains committed to delivering service that you, our customers, deem as being of unquestionable value. While change and innovation is on the horizon, our spirit of self-reliance, expectation of excellence and commitment to your satisfaction will never waver. Sincerely,
Hugh E. Grunden President & CEO, Easton Utilities
When I visit other parts of Maryland, I always appreciate hearing what high regard people have for Easton. They talk about our great looking downtown, our restaurants and galleries, and our live entertainment. Of course, they love special events like the Waterfowl Festival, our parades, and our Fourth of July celebration. But a big part of what makes us so special is the amazing range of services our community provides to make all of this happen. The Town of Easton has long been committed to making sure that our citizens have the best in services including utilities. No other municipality in Maryland can boast having its own electric, natural gas, water, wastewater, cable television or high-speed Internet services. Consider those services in addition to our own newspaper, radio station, hospital, volunteer fire department, municipal services and public works personnel. Taken together, Easton provides a quality of life and level of support that you cannot find anywhere else. I am proud of the good men and women at Easton Utilities who serve this community and are there in the middle of the night, as the storm is howling, to make sure the lights are on and people stay safe and warm. As both mayor, and a lifelong customer, I congratulate Easton Utilities on its Century of Service to our community. Sincerely,
Robert C. Willey Mayor, Town of Easton
Easton Utilities Commissioners: (left to right) William W. “Buck” Duncan, Timothy E. Wyman, and David J. North
The Easton Utilities Commissioners Timothy E. Wyman, Chairman I am honored to be serving my 12th year on the Commission now as chairman. Our community is fortunate to have an extremely dedicated and professional team to provide and maintain our vital utilities and services. I am proud to be part of this Centennial and our history of excellence.
David J. North, Vice Chairman Having lived in Easton for more than half of the last century being celebrated, I have seen first-hand the many changes in Easton Utilities. Years ago in our old neighborhood we could count on the overworked transformer breaking down in a lightning storm. There were no bucket trucks so men climbed poles with spikes and safety belts. Much has changed over the last century, but it is not the changes and improvements that have impressed me the most with Easton Utilities. It’s the people, the pride, the professionalism that has been the constant and the core of those in the office and in the field.
William W. “Buck” Duncan, Jr. Treasurer The Town of Easton was, is and will continue to be, one of the finest small towns in the entire USA. It is a wonderful place to live, work and raise families!
1860
Easton Gas-Light Company was formed to supply gas, manufactured from
coal. Located on West Street, the Easton Gas Plant provided fuel for domestic, commercial and public gas street lights, which were tended by official lamp lighters.
Above: Capstone from the original Easton Gas Plant building.
Aerial photograph (c. 1933) by H.R. Hollyday of Court House Square in Easton, MD.
This Sanborn Map from 1885 shows the location of the Easton Gas Works, including the “Iron Gas Holder, Wind Mill Pump, Coal Shed, Coke Shed, Purifiers & Condensers� on the corner of West and Dover Streets in the upper left corner of the map.
1887
Hanson Street Standpipe constructed
for Easton Water Company. The standpipe provided pressure to Easton’s new piped water system. Its height and decorative cap have made it a familiar Easton landmark on Hanson Street. The tower stands 100 feet tall and 14 feet in diameter and is made of wrought iron plates, able to hold 86,000 gallons of water. Though it is no longer operational, the standpipe remains a structure of historic importance in Easton.
Pictured left is the standpipe as seen in the 1980s.
1887
THE FIRST ELECTRIC LIGHT STATION WAS CONSTRUCTED ON WASHINGTON STREET
IN EASTON. The station (pictured left) was owned by the Easton Light and Fuel Company and operated until 1915. Electricity first came to Easton in 1887, but was not under the town jurisdiction until 1915.
A paid gas bill from 1887.
1906
The story by which utilities
to make additional capital investments in mod-
came under the town’s purview is a
ern pumps. The gas company was financially un-
story of perseverance and innovation.
stable. Easton’s infrastructure needed a significant
Although Easton had gas service since 1860 and elec-
overhaul and, despite concerns about cost, Mayor
tricity had been available for streets and homes since
Higgins was determined to make it happen. That
1887, both services failed to meet the needs of Easton’s
overhaul would be the foundation of today’s Easton
population. According to “Easton Album” by Norman
including its innovative municipal utility company.
Harrington (The Historical Society of Talbot County,
Building on the successful effort to construct a
1986), “The electric service, however, was discontinued daily at midnight, causing late visitors to scurry home before the old carbon globes gradually died out as the town clock struck twelve. After midnight, the only lights about the town were half a dozen gas jet lamps encased in square glass lanterns set on top of
town-wide sewer system in 1911 (the first of its kind in Maryland), Mayor Higgins launched a campaign to rally community support, lobby for authorization from the state legislature and secure permission
wooden poles.”
from the Maryland Public Ser-
By December 1913, Martin Higgins, Easton’s outspo-
vice Commission to bring essential
ken mayor, had had enough with the town’s privately
services under the auspices of an
owned and operated utilities. Electric service was in-
Easton Utilities Commission. His
consistent, poorly run and undercapitalized. The wa-
vision included a modern sewer sys-
ter system experienced periodic shortages often due
tem, well-paved, hard-surface streets,
to the amount of water used to keep dust down on the
concrete gutters and sidewalks, and
Town’s unpaved streets. The operator could not afford
municipally owned and operated wa-
The official 1910 ballot for Easton’s Mayor and Council elections. Mayor Higgins won his second attempt to be mayor and began Easton’s progressive municipal improvements.
ter, gas and electric plants. Easton’s Mayor Martin M. Higgins (at right, with pick axe) at the inauguration of construction of Easton’s new sanitary sewer system in June 1911.
At first, the community balked. But in his inaugural State of the Town report on December 15, 1913, Mayor Higgins found the support he needed. On April 1, 1914, the Maryland State Legislature authorized the establishment of the Easton Utilities Commission, “to operate, manage and maintain the municipal sewerage system and water works and all or any other revenue producing utilities which are now owned or may be hereafter constructed or acquired by the town.” Harry H. Landsdale, John S. McDaniel and Frank Ross were appointed as the first commissioners. In 1914, Easton’s municipal wastewater system became operational, making it the first separate storm and sanitary sewer system in Maryland. After acquiring the Easton Water Company in 1914, Easton Utilities installed water meters (customers had previously been charged a flat rate This campaign advertisement by a citizen’s committee raises questions about Easton’s municipal improvements. Criticism focused around the bonds to build a sewage system and power plant for Easton.
regardless of usage) and water consumption decreased in subsequent years. The power plant and distribution system were constructed and the Easton Municipal Electric System began operating in March 1915 with an addition built to the plant in 1917. While his successor did not share Mayor Higgins’ enthusiasm for the utility business (“No city government under our present municipal system can operate this plant at a profit,” Mayor Nichols groused as he attempted to sell the operation), the municipal operations grew and the final piece of Mayor Higgins’ vision, gas plant operations, came under Easton Utilities’ operations in 1923. Upon taking ownership of the nearly bankrupt gas company, Easton Utilities found that over half the old meters weren’t registering due to tar in their works. Throughout the 1920s Easton’s water and wastewater systems were improved with the construction and installation of additional wells and pumping equipment, as well as general water and wastewater extensions. BeImprovements to Easton’s water and wastewater system included the construction of Choptank River Sewage Treatment Plant (facing page at top), water extensions (above), and Choptank River Sewage Treatment Plant outfall construction (right).
tween 1927 and 1928, a second water tower was built near Idlewild Avenue. In 1939, Easton’s Choptank River Sewage Treatment Plant and Choptank River Sewage Force Main were constructed.
Growth. During the 1930s, Easton experienced a 34 percent increase in the demand for electricity and Easton Utilities extended the distribution system. An additional diesel engine was installed, as were underground conduits, and a modern street lighting system on Easton’s main business streets. These enhancements marked the beginning of Easton’s modern electric system. By 1945, the demand for electricity was 12 times the demand it experienced in 1918. During the 1940s, the distribution system was extended beyond Easton, including Longwoods, Miles River Neck, Goldsborough Neck, Glebe Road, Matthewstown Road, Dover Road, Trappe Road and Oxford Road. During the 1950s and 1960s, additional modern diesel engines were added to meet the increasing electrical needs of Easton and its surrounding area. During this same period, Easton Utilities had to determine how to handle its wastewater treatment. In 1962, Easton completed and placed in operation the first waste stabilization lagoon designed for municipal sewerage treatment in Maryland. The facility featured a 50-acre primary lagoon and a 15-acre secondary lagoon. In 1964, the North Pumping Station and the new Calvert Force Main Pumping Stations were connected as part of water and wastewater upgrades that also improved water pressure.
An increase in demand in the 1930s created a necessity for new diesel engines and improvements to the electric distribution system.
Easton Utilities replaced gas manfactured from coal with natural gas in the 1960s (left). Easton Utilities programmed their first computerized control room in 1967 (below).
Between 1974 and 1978, the Utilities expanded its electrical capacity with the installation of new conductors, the construction of a new substation and power plant, and the construction of a fuel oil terminal. In 1978, Easton Utilities installed In 1966, Easton Utilities converted from manufactured gas to natural gas. Easton’s gas was originally derived from coal at a plant on West Street. After the conversion, Easton received its gas via pipeline. The nation’s growing web of utility infrastructure reached Easton and by the late 1960s, Easton Utilities ceased being an “island” and connected with an interstate pipeline that provided continuous access to natural gas. In 1971, Easton’s electric system interconnected with the regional transmission grid providing access to electric generators from throughout the region. Technology. At the birth of the Technological Revolution, Easton embraced new ways to communicate. In 1967, the Town was the first municipality in the nation to “computerize” its Town Code. Easton Utilities employees designed, programmed and installed their first computerized control room.
the Sundstrand Organic Rankine Cycle Waste Heat Recovery System. The field installation at Easton Utilities was one of three municipal utilities and two industrial installations defined by a cooperative agreement between the United States Department of Energy and Sundstrand.
In 1984, Easton Utilities received a U. S. Environmental Protection Agency grant award for the innovative overflow wastewater treatment addition to the permanent facility enabling Easton to complete construction of added capacity in 1988. This “natural” wastewater treatment facility incorporated a 67acre overland flow system which was capable of processing the 2.8 million gallons of wastewater Easton produced daily. The Town of Easton, Easton Utilities and the Maryland Center for Environmental Training were recognized by the EPA, with a regional award for excellence in operation and maintenance of the wastewater plant near the Dover Bridge. In 1989, Easton Utilities built a state-of-the-art water treatment plant on Glebe Road.
In 1984, dissatisfied with the condition of cable tele-
By the late 1990s, Easton Utilities’ operations grew
vision service in the area, Easton Utilities installed its
to the point where it could not be effectively man-
first cable television service with 37 channels. In 1998,
aged from multiple office locations. A detailed
it added EastonOnline, a dial-up Internet service with
analysis showed that constructing a new building
tech support. As it watched the massive wave of data
would be more cost effective than renting addi-
demand coming, Easton upgraded its cable and Inter-
tional space. In 2000, Easton Utilities completed a
net infrastructure in 2001, launched the first two-way
32,000 square foot Customer Service Center on the
cable modems on the Eastern Shore, and began to install
footprint of the Yale Underwear Factory. Designed
what is now more than 3,000 miles of fiber optic cabling
by Becker Morgan Group Architects and built by
throughout the town and portions of Talbot County.
Willow Construction, the award-winning building blended with the historic fabric of Easton while providing a state-of-the-art facility to improve customer service and intraoffice functions. In the decade following the new millennium, Easton Utilities continued to improve its existing infrastructure. Beginning in 2001, the cable system was fully upgraded and rebuilt into a hybrid fibercoax design, which increased system bandwidth allowing Easton Cable to offer
Cable television became a new service to utility customers in 1984 and by improving technology with the times was upgraded and rebuilt into a hybrid fiber/coax design in 2001.
more programming and entertainment.
In 2005, Easton Utilities expanded Power Plant 2 by
systems are critical to maintaining Easton’s long
of data services that will provide fiber-optic con-
adding two combustion turbine generators. In 2007,
track record of reliability. Pipes, wires, poles and
nections to the home, office and desktop. Build-
Easton Utilities upgraded its wastewater processing
other infrastructure have finite lifespans. Easton
ing on innovative software solutions it developed
capacity by constructing a new Enhanced Nutrient
Utilities continually evaluates, prioritizes and re-
to manage its own operations, Easton Utilities IT
Removal Wastewater Treatment Facility. The state-
places aging infrastructure to keep outages short
Professional Services group will continue to cus-
of-the-art facility was considered Maryland’s cleanest
and infrequent. The current model of producing
tomize solutions for utilities, government agencies
at its commissioning in 2007.
energy remotely and transporting it over long
and businesses.
In 2011, Easton Cable launched Easton Cable Velocity that included an all-digital format and video-on demand services. These upgrades also allowed for faster Internet services and future cable enhancements. The Future. As Easton Utilities embarks on its second century of service, the challenges are no less
distances is evolving into a new model of energy conservation and localized, renewable energy generation. Solar panels and wind turbines are becoming more common. While Easton Utilities Internet service rivals anywhere else in the State, the company is working on the next generation
complex than those faced by Mayor Higgins and the first Easton Utilities Commission. The ability to make sound investments to ensure reliable, competitively priced services is essential to customer satisfaction. Replacing aging infrastructure and building diversity in our various
Easton Utilities continues to make strides in technology with natural gas powered vehicles and innovative software solutions.
What won’t change over the next century is Easton Utilities commitment to innovation and reliability that are the foundations upon which it was built.
OUR 100 YEAR JOURNEY BEGINS 1914
WATER DEPARTMENT WAS ESTABLISHED. During his tenure, Mayor Martin Higgins championed
paved streets, concrete gutters and sidewalks, and municipally owned and operated water, sewer, gas and electric systems. Today, Easton Utilities Water Department serves 6,000 customers through 84 miles of water mains and over 550 fire hydrants. Easton Utilities pumps water from naturally filtered underground aquifers (water-bearing sands) through six wells that are 1,000 to 1,200 feet deep. Easton Utilities treats the water as required and pumps it into the distribution system. Of those wells, four are drilled 1,000 feet into the Magothy Aquifer. The final two wells are drilled 1,200 feet into the Upper Patapsco Aquifer and feed directly into a state-of-the-art water treatment plant on Glebe Road. This plant, capable of pumping over 1,300 gallons per minute, provides over half the drinking water in Easton.
During sewer and water construction work in 1911-1912, an old cast iron water main on Dover Street had to be supported. The view is from near Harrison Street, looking west toward Washington Street.
1914
North and South Treatment Plants OPERATIONAL. Easton’s first sewage system was built between 1911
and 1912. Operational by 1914, it was the first separate storm and sanitary sewer system in the State of Maryland. Currently, the Wastewater Department serves 7,000 customers through over 90 miles of sewer mains, seven major pumping stations and an environmentallyfriendly wastewater treatment facility. Completed in 2007, Easton’s Enhanced Nutrient Removal Wastewater Treatment Facility was one of Maryland’s first to meet the new, more stringent, discharge requirements. The new facility is sized to provide enough capacity to meet Easton’s future needs.
Aerial photo of Easton’s North and South Treatment Plants, originally constructed in 1914.
This 1914 newspaper clipping discusses the ordinance for Easton’s proposed new sewage system. The sewage system, called “Clyde Potts,” was named after an internationally-known water and sewer engineer Clyde Potts from New Jersey who supervised water and sewage setups all over the east.
In 1917, Easton’s water system continued to improve with the construction of additional supply, distribution piping (pictured here) and customer meters to feed the additional load brought on by the sewage system and new boilers at the electric plant. The installation of water meters helped to eliminate a great waste of water for the town.
Pictured are the south outfall sewer extensions, part of Easton’s first sewage system built between 1911 and 1912.
1915
INCORPORATION. On May 14, 1914 the Maryland Public Service Commission issued Order No. 1793, authorizing the construction
of a Municipal Electric Light and Power Plant and electric distribution system in Easton. The power plant and distribution systems were constructed and the Easton Municipal Electric System began operating in March 1915. The equipment in the power plant consisted of two steam engine-driven generating sets of 100 kilowatt capacity each. Steam was furnished by two horizontal tubular boilers of 150 HP rating each. The new electric plant was one of the first to supply alternating current (AC) instead of direct current (DC). The distribution system consisted of a series of street lighting circuits and one feeder to supply energy for the town. Service was limited to the Town of Easton.
The power plant appears in this photo taken in the mid to late 1950s before Talbottown Shopping Center was built on Washington Street. The plant is in the center of the photo, to the left of the Yale Underwear Factory (long narrow building), which is now the site of the new Easton Utilities Customer Service Center. With the new power plant came new equipment, including this milliamp meter (right).
1917
Electric Plant Addition.
Between 1918 and 1922, the load on the power plant increased significantly and a 300-kilowatt steam turbine was installed and placed in operation. In 1923 two boilers of 300 HP capacity each were installed. A diesel engine-driven generating unit of 300 kilowatt capacity was installed in 1927. This unit was operated with the steam turbine unit. The peak demand on the system was 430 kilowatts.
Above is an AC-amp meter which came off of the 2400-volt switch gear on the Engine #1 generator in the power plant. The Eveready DC-amp meter (on the right) was used for testing early DC circuits.
Pictured are Easton’s original town engineers John Anderson (left) and F.D.W. Tharp.
A paid note from Easton National Bank of Maryland for the Easton Light Company in April 1923.
1923
EASTON GAS DEPARTMENT ACQUIRED BY THE TOWN. In 1923, the Easton Light Company was sold to the Town of Easton
for $11,333.55. At the time the gas system had 323 customers, making Easton one of the few towns in the country that owned and operated all of its utilities. Easton’s gas was originally derived by burning coal at a plant on West Street, but Easton Utilities converted to natural gas in 1966 and now purchases gas in the competitive marketplace. Gas is delivered to Easton via pipeline where it is distributed to over 4,800 customers through 82 miles of steel and plastic mains. The Gas Department distributes an average of 1,200,000 cubic feet of natural gas per day to Easton residents living in its 8.5 square-mile service territory. Today, Easton operates the only municipally-owned gas utility in Maryland.
This check was written for the purchase of the Easton Light Company in the amount of $11,333.55 in April 1923.
In 1927-1928, a second water tower was built after the standpipe to accommodate Easton’s water needs. The 100,000-gallon tank was located at the corner of Idlewild Avenue and Aurora Streets.
1928
As Easton’s population continued
to grow, demand for water and electricity grew too. Easton made improvements to the water system in the 1920s, including the addition of wells, pumping equipment, and by 1931, a direct feed chlorinator.
This direct feed chlorinator was added to the South Sewage Disposal Plant off of South Washington Street in 1931 following the 1929 water and wastewater improvements.
Water system extensions made in the 1920s.
Easton Utilities ledger from the 1930s.
When the Easton Fire Department moved from its 1886 engine house to a new firehouse across Harrison Street in 1933, the vacated building was remodeled (as shown here circa 1980) to become the town offices and the administrative headquarters of the Easton Utilities Commission. The town’s original fire bell still hangs in the cupola of the building that now serves as the Talbot County Welcome Center.
1929-1941
UNDERGROUND CONDUITS
INSTALLED, MARKING THE BEGINNING OF OUR MODERN ELECTRIC SYSTEM. Between 1929 and 1936, the demand for electricity increased by 34 percent. In 1929, Easton Utilities installed a second diesel engine-driven unit of 520 kilowatt capacity. Easton Utilities used two diesel units for regular service and kept steam turbine equipment in reserve. When prospective consumers in Longwoods requested service, Easton Utilities installed an additional 700 kilowatt deisel engine and extended the distribution system. In August 1936, the extension was completed and service rendered. During 1938, additional distribution feeders were installed in underground conduits in the central part of the town and a modern street lighting system was installed on Easton’s main business streets, marking the beginning of Easton’s modern electric system. The overhead distribution system was also rebuilt and enlarged. By 1941, another diesel engine unit with 700 kilowatt capacity was installed. Additional distribution feeders installed to meet the demands for Easton’s electricity needs in 1938 (top images). Pictured are street light poles, part of the town’s modern street lighting system, installed in 1938 on the main business streets in Easton (bottom images).
A 1938 map of Easton’s electrical distribution and modern street lighting system
1939
Choptank
River
Sewage
Treatment Plant. By 1939, the town’s water and sewage needs increased and construction of the Choptank River Sewage Treatment Plant and Choptank River Sewage Force Main were completed.
Pictured on the right and on the following page are construction photos of the 1939 Choptank River Sewage Treatment Plant.
This aerial photo shows the site for Easton’s new Choptank River Sewage Treatment Plant completed in 1939 outside of Easton near where the Dover Bridge stands today.
The force main pipe which pumped the sewage to the Choptank River Sewage Treatment Plant (left).
In 1939, as part of Easton’s sewage treatment projects, the North and South Treatment Plants were connected and converted to pump sewage to the new Choptank River Sewage Treatment Plant (pictured right).
1947
Engine AdditionS. During the period 1936 to 1941 the demand
for Easton’s electricity again increased by 52 percent and an additional generating unit was required to maintain reliable service. The demand for electricity by 1945 was approximately 12 times the demand in the year 1918. During the late summer of 1946, an order was placed for a sixth diesel engine driven generator. This machine had an engine of 1800 HP capacity and a generator of 1250 kilowatt capacity and was of the modern “Super Charged” design. By 1947, the electrical distribution system was extended to serve Longwoods, Miles River Neck, Goldsborough Neck, Glebe Road, Matthewstown Road (5 miles), Dover Road to Dover Bridge, Trappe Road to Peachblossom Creek, Oxford Road to Waverly and Cedar Point, and Point Road to
A receipt of $.50 paid by Le Roy Taylor in 1941.
Easton Point.
A Coast & Geodetic Survey marker from 1942 that was found on Easton Utilities property is another artifact held by the company today.
Employees of the Easton Utilities Electric Department in 1947 posed with the sixth diesel engine. Pictured left to right are Warren Phillips, Simon DeShields, Francis Cole, Roy Newell, and William Krumbine, Superintendent of the Easton Utilities Electric Department.
Easton Utilities issued bonds in 1951 to fund the town’s water and sewer extensions. Pictured are the loan bonds for the project.
1953
Engine # 7 Addition. By 1953,
the seventh diesel engine was purchased with a generating capacity of 2500 kilowatts, followed by the eighth in 1957 with a generating capacity of 2500 kilowatts. By 1960, the total installed capacity at the electric plant was 9870 kilowatts. There were 3,458 customers who used a total of 24,406,138 kilowatt hours of electrical energy a year.
Pictured is mechanic Harvey Engle with Engine #7.
Electric plant tour led by Mr. Krumbine and Mr Corkran (second and third from left.)
1962
Wastewater Lagoons
Constructed. In 1962, Easton completed and placed in operation the first waste stabilization lagoon designed for municipal sewerage treatment in Maryland. Still in use today, the primary lagoon is 50 acres and the secondary lagoon is 15 acres.
An aerial view in 1962 of the acreage of Easton’s twin lagoon treatment facility located east of the town near the Choptank River and Dover Bridge.
Before deciding upon a new sewage treatment system, Easton’s municipal and utilities officials inspected waste stabilization lagoons serving Missouri housing developments, industries, shopping centers, schools and farms. Pictured, from left to right, are Easton Mayor Calvin G. Lomax (1954-1958, 1960-1961); a public health official; Walter H. Barnes, Easton Council President and Mayor, 19591960; and T. Earl Ewing, a member of the Easton Utilities Commission. The tour was arranged by Town Engineer and Utilities’ General Manager William H. Corkran, Jr. in cooperation with the Maryland State Department of Health.
1964-1966
Engine AdditionS. A 3000 kilowatt diesel engine generating unit (Engine #9)
was started in 1961 and a 3500 kilowatt unit (Engine #10) was started ed in 1966, bringing the total installed kilowatt capacity to 16,370. At this time the use of the first and second diesel generating units was discontinued which reduced the total installed generating capacity to 15,550 kilowatts. The peak system
demand
in
1966 was 10,050 kilowatts
and
40,615,463
kilowatt hours were sold.
Pictured is the interior of the Easton Electrical Plant with the diesel engines in 1957 before two new diesel engines were added in the 1960s. Pictured on the right is the original switch gear. The handles were operated by hand to direct power to individual customers.
Francis Cole, head of Easton Utilities Mechanical Maintenance is holding a wrench used to bolt down the base of an engine or generator frame.
Engine #8 is one of two twocycle diesel engines owned by Easton Utilities.
William Krumbine, Superintendent of Easton Utilities Electric Department.
Easton Utilities staff celebrate William Krumbine’s retirement in November 1959 are Easton Utilities employees, front row, left to right: T. Earl Ewing, Robert Rowens, Howard Moffet, William Krumbine, Lois Boyce, Mary Elliott, and Ann Kraul. Pictured back row, left to right, are: George “Skip” Elwood Larmore, Pete Dillin, Roy Newell, Gordon Callahan, Dobbie Dobson, Dick Marshall, Pete Brown, Guy Willey, Leonard Cole, Dave Lowe, Vernon Willoughby, Keith Cummings, Simon DeShields, Elwood Larmore, Clarence “Buck” Dyott, Warren “Wing” Phillips, Ernie Fisher, George Wilber Taylor, Norris “Skinny” Elliott, Rex Grunden, Bill Corkran, and Francis Cole.
1966
Eastern Shore Natural Gas extended their
natural gas transmission lines to the lower shore allowing Easton Utilities to convert its manufactured gas system to natural gas. Easton’s primary customer was our Power Plant located on Washington Street, but within several years the entire system was converted to natural gas. Natural gas provides a safer, cleaner and more reliable source of fuel than manufactured gas. Easton’s gas system now consists of more than 150 miles of gas lines, and distributes an average of 5 million cubic feet per day to over 4,800 customers
American Meter Gas Bell Prover – Used since the early 1900’s to test meter accuracy. The prover has a vertical inner tank, surrounded by an outer shell. The space between the tanks contains a known quantity of air which is compared to the gas meter measured volume. This prover remained in service until 2003.
Taken from American Meter Measurement of Gases 1936. The same physical laws that were used in the 1930’s, are still the core principals of natural gas distribution, regulation and metering.
15,000 Gallon Liquid Propane Gas Storage Tank taken from Lancaster Iron Works, Inc. Handbook 3rd edition.
1964
Easton enhanced reliability by
directing that all new residential electric construction be underground. Today, all residential electric construction is completely underground. By July, 1966 the first use of natural gas as a fuel in the electric plant was made. With the increased need for power in the 1960s and 1970s came the demand for additional diesel engines to generate the power.
Easton Utilities diesel engines were delivered by rail to Easton’s train station and had to be moved from rail to trailer. Pictured here in 1964 is the delivery on the rails of Engine #10, a 3500-kilowatt unit driven by a dual fuel engine. Pictured above is a 1963 safety award from the American Public Power Association.
Easton’s Cooper–Bessemer diesel generators were built in Mount Vernon, Ohio. Two additional 3500-kilowatt dual fuel units (Engines #11 and #12) were installed in 1967 and 1969 and two more units (Engines #13 and #14) were installed in 1971 (left.)
1964
North to Calvert Force
Main & Station Upgrades. The North Pumping Station and the new Calvert Force Main Pumping Stations were connected and the water and sewer system upgraded.
Pictured is the Calvert Force Main Pumping station (top right) and the motor control center in the Calvert Force Main Clifton Pumping Station.
Leon Brooks, an employee in Easton Utilities Water and Sewer Department, is pictured working 30 feet below the ground in the Calvert Force Main Clifton Pumping Station on Route 50 in Easton.
Pictured here is the delivery of Diesel Engine #13 as it was moved from rail to trailer. Francis Cole, Power Plant Superintendent, is pictured in the bottom right photo.
Looking Northwest, this aerial photo shows Talbottown (lower right), Easton Utilities (center), and the Yale Underwear Factory (left). The Marlboro and Tred Avon Plazas are pictured in the upper portion of the photo.
1971
69kv Cable DP&L Substation to Substation #1. In 1971, 69,000 volt electric
cable was installed from the Delmarva Power & Light substation to Easton’s Substation #1. This cable has been upgraded twice since its original installation.
Pictured is the map showing the route of the cable from the Delmarva Power & Light substation to Easton’s Substation #1.
Easton Utilities employees from a range of departments installed 5,100 feet of the 69,000-volt cable by hand. The cable was spliced together at the junction at Glenwood Avenue and Pleasant Alley.
Pictured (right) is Chester Thomas, Control Room Operator, in Easton Utilities Control Room in 1973.
A Print Demand Meter (top) in the Control Room shows how much power is being used. A chart (bottom) reveals the flow of electricity in Easton.
1976
Power Plant 2 Construction. Between 1974 and 1978, Easton Utilities expanded its electrical capacity with
the installation of new cable, the construction of a new substation and power plant, and the construction of a fuel oil terminal.
This 1974 map (left) is a diagram outlining the cable connection between Power Plant #1 and Easton’s new Power Plant #2 which was completed in 1978.
This 1977 aerial photo (left) shows Easton Utilities new satellite electric generating plant at the Easton Airport Industrial Park.
Pictured (left) is the new Fuel Oil Terminal, constructed in 1974 at Easton Point. Barges traveling up the Tred Avon River offloaded fuel to this tank. Trucks delivered the fuel to Easton’s two power plants.
Diesel engines 23 and 24 were installed in 1976-1977.
1978
Power Plant 2 ORC Installation.
Easton Utilities introduced the Sundstrand Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) Waste Heat Recovery System. The system was similar to the thermodynamic cycle used for steam engines, except that it used organic fluid instead of water to cycle through the system which was connected to Engines #21 and #22 (left). The field installation at Easton Utilities was one of three municipal utilities and two industrial installations defined by a cooperative agreement between the United States Department of Energy and Sundstrand.
The Power Conversion Model (right) was installed in Power Plant #2 as part of the ORC project.
1982
Power Plant TWO No. 2 Heavy Oil Conversion of Engines 21 & 22.
In 1983 Power Plant Two added a 100,000 gallon heavy oil storage tank.
Newly appointed General Manager and Town Engineer, Roger Judd inspects a storm drain in southeast Easton in 1983. Expenditures on newly-constructed drainage had amounted to $108,000 during the previous 10-year period. During 1981-1982 the Higgins Street area from Dover Street south received new storm drainage to alleviate chronic flooding there during heavy rains. The 4,500-foot drain, using 6-foot pipe, cost $750,000.
In 1983, Jerry Adams, Manager of Easton Utilities Water and Wastewater, (left) tests the water at the Overland Flow Project. In the 1980s the Wastewater Treatment Facility experimented with water hyacinth before the Overland Flow Project was constructed in 1987 as a means of nutrient removal in the overland flow. In 1984, Easton Utilities received an EPA grant award for the innovative overflow addition to the permanent facility enabling Easton to complete construction of added capacity in 1986. The Town of Easton, Easton Utilities and the Maryland Center for Environmental Training were recognized by the EPA, with a regional award for excellence in operation and maintenance of the wastewater plant near the Dover Bridge.
1984
EAston cable created. In November 1984, Easton Utilities launched a full-ser-
vice Cable Television Department (Easton Cable) with the construction of the cable head-end building, tower and satellites. Completed in 1985 at a cost of $1.5 million, the service offered a choice of 37 channels from its air, satellite, and lock system. Easton Cable is one of the few municipally-owned cable systems in the United States, and its service policies and competitive rates reflect its local ownership. The system was fully upgraded and rebuilt into a hybrid fiber/coax (HFC) design in 2001, that increased system bandwidth from 450 Mhz to 860 Mhz and allowed Easton Cable to offer more programming and entertainment. In 2011, Easton Cable launched Easton Cable Velocity that included an all-digital format and video-on-demand services. These upgrades also allowed for faster Internet services and future cable enhancements. Today, Easton Cable Velocity offers Internet residential speeds up to 50 mbps and advanced networks up to Gigabit speeds, the fastest service in the area. More than 6,000 Easton households now receive up to 273 channels, including basic cable, digital cable, premium channels, high-definition (HD), and digital music.
The original cable plant, head-end building, tower and satellites (left) were built on Bay Street in Easton in 1984.
Pictured (above) is the original equipment installed in 1984 in the cable head-end building. At left is the original cable controller and box.
1984 Easton Utilities received
an EPA grant award for the innovative
overflow wastewater treatment addition to the permanent facility enabling Easton to complete construction of added capacity in 1988. This “natural� wastewater treatment facility incorporated a 67-acre overland flow system which was capable of processing the 2.8 million gallons of wastewater Easton produced daily.
Wastewater treatment consoles at Overland Flow (left and right).
1987
Earth Station (Satellite Dish) # 4. Over the years, additional satellite dishes were added by Easton Cable
at the head-end building. Today, Easton Cable operates seven satellite dishes, a broadcast reception tower and a local weather station. Pictured is “Earth Satellite Dish #4� added to accommodate channel satellite changes and additional programming.
1988
Future site of Customer Service
Center. This 1988 photo shows the site of the Yale Underwear Factory, which became the site of the Easton Utilities Customer Service Center.
1989
GLEBE Water Treatment Plant. Easton’s water system is supplied by 12 deep-water wells, one of which drops 1,200
feet and feeds directly into a state-of-the-art water treatment plant on Glebe Road. The building sits on a 50,000-gallon tank. A filtering system was added, along with a chlorine-making machine. Over half of the drinking water in Easton is supplied by this well, which is capable of pumping over 900 gallons per minute.
The Glebe Water Treatment Plant, (left) built in 1989. Pictured ((above left) distribution pumps inside of the Glebe Water Treatment Plant. (Above right) Fred Henckel, Superintendent of Water Distribution and Wastewater Collection, at the Glebe Water Treatment Plant.
1994
THE ICE STORM. On February 10-11, 1994, an ice storm struck Easton. It left a coat of ice, 1 to 3 inches thick, from freezing
rain and sleet. Meanwhile, across north-central Maryland 4 to 7 inches of sleet accumulated. By far, the hardest hit area was about a 50 mile wide band from near Fredericksburg, VA across southern Maryland (Charles, Calvert, and St. Mary’s counties) up to Annapolis, across the Eastern Shore (Queen Anne’s, Caroline, and Talbot counties) and over to Sussex and Kent Counties in Delaware. Some counties lost 10 to 20 percent of their trees from the heavy ice. Trees fell on homes and cars. Roads were blocked and impassable. The storm damaged infrastructure and caused the downing of electric and phone lines. Approximately 90 percent of the county’s residents lost power, many for up to a week. President Clinton issued a disaster declaration and statewide damages were estimated at near $100 million. This was likely the iciest winter Maryland had seen during this century.
Trees down on Glebe Road during the ice storm (above). Pictured (left) left to right are Easton Utilities employees Russel Miles (on pole), Dave Altman, Billy Miles and Lloyd Shaffer along utility right of way in Waverly area.
Deputy General Manager Hugh Grunden on left and Scott Messick, Director of Information Systems on right, man Easton Utilities Command Center during the storm.
FACING PAGE: Pictured (upper left) are Easton Utilities employees Russel Miles and Lonnie Larmore on a pole, with John Garlick in bucket nearby. Pictured (bottom left) are Easton Utilities employees Brent Spicer, next to truck, and Jack Jarrell, behind truck, delivering hot food and drinks. Pictured (upper center) are Easton Utilities employees Scott Rush at back of truck and Rob Himelright next to the truck while inspecting damage. Pictured (middle center) is the 700 block of Elizabeth Street in Easton, looking west during the ice storm. Pictured (lower center) are trees down in the Clifton neighborhood. (Above) A road in the county during the ice storm.
Letters came from Easton residents and businesses applauding employees of Easton Utilities for the outstanding job they did in handling the ice storm in 1994.
1996
Propane Air Facility. As Easton’s natural gas
load continued to grow and natural gas prices climbed, the Gas Department constructed its Propane Air Peak-Shaving Facility in 1996 to avoid contracting for additional 365 day firm transportation pipeline capacity and supply. The facility is operated on the coldest days by injecting a propane and air mix into our natural gas pipeline flow allowing Easton Utilities to meet its customers’ natural gas demands.
Pictured above is the gate station where the natural gas comes into Easton and is distributed.
Prior to injecting the propane air mix into the natural gas system, the gas is “flared” for several minutes to stabilize the btu content so it is interchangeable with natural gas (right).
1998
EASTON ONLINE LAUNCHED. In 1998, the Easton Utilities Cable & Commu-
nications Department launched EastonOnline, an Internet Service Provider featuring dial-up Internet access and tech support. Easton Cable offered High Speed Internet access at up to 5 mbps making it the fastest service in the area. Easton Cable was one of the first cable operators on the Eastern Shore to deploy high-speed cable modems. EastonOnline offered DigitalVoice, website hosting and other services in addition to the high-speed Internet.
1999
Consolidated Office Build-
ing & Yard. Built in 1999, the 32,000-square foot Easton Utilities Customer Service Center provided a consolidated office environment. Becker Morgan Group Architects designed the new facility and Willow Construction built it directly adjacent to historic downtown Easton, to blend with the historic fabric of Easton while providing a state-of-the-art facility to improve customer service and intra-office functions. Molded red brick was used both inside and out to help the building mesh with the fabric of 19th century downtown Easton. The building received The Historical Society of Talbot County Heritage Award for Excellence in New Architectural Design in Historic Easton.
1999
1 Million Gallon Water Tank # 2. Easton
Utilities added water storage to improve performance, reliability and fire suppression between 1999 and 2003. The Water Department currently serves 6,700 customers through 84 miles of water mains and over 554 fire hydrants. Easton Utilities pumps water from naturally filtered underground aquifers (water-bearing sands) through six wells that are 1,000 to 1,200 feet deep.
The original million gallon water tank (left), built in 1999, is located on Matthewstown Road. In 2003, a one-million gallon water tank (Tank #2, above) was built (left center) to accommodate Easton’s growing water needs.
The water tower and tank (center right and series), built at Idlewild Park in 1927, was dismantled in less than a day in 2006 when a new skate park was built on the site.
2004
Wastewater treatment facility Enhanced Nutrient Removal WASTEWATER
UpgradE. Completed in 2007, Easton’s Enhanced Nutrient Removal Wastewater Treatment Facility (left) is one of Maryland’s first to meet the new, more stringent, discharge requirements. The new facility is sized to provide enough capacity to meet Easton’s needs in the coming years. Currently, the Wastewater Department serves 6,900 customers through over 90 miles of sewer mains, six major pumping stations and an environmentally-friendly wastewater treatment facility.
An upgraded tank from this project is pictured above.
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT. In keeping with our mission to enhance the quality of life in our community, Easton Utilities is proud to support many local organizations and events. As it looks to its next century of service, Easton Utilities has focused much of its work on programs that educate and inspire our community’s future business managers, employees, home owners, consumers and volunteers.
Easton Utilities supports the ACE Mentor Program of Maryland’s Eastern Shore, Junior Achievement, Adopt-A-School program, and more than 70 community organizations.
Easton Utilities strives to be a good neighbor and community steward. In addition to supporting community organizations, Easton Utilities has taken the lead in several environmental initiatives including planting trees throughout the community each year.
2013
RUDOLPH RETURNS TO EASTON.
Between the 1950s and the 1970s, Rudolph the Reindeer heralded the beginning of the holiday season from atop his perch at Easton’s Talbottown Shopping Center. Over his orange telephone receiver, Rudolph listened to holiday wishes from children who were talking to him from a red phone booth down below. Easton Utilities played a central role in installing Rudolph each year until his disappearance in the 1970s. As a Centennial gift to Easton, Easton Utilities CEO, Hugh Grunden led the effort to have Easton Utilities bring Rudolph back. Rudolph returned in 2013 to Talbottown Shopping Center in order for a new generation of children to be able to tell Santa what they want for Christmas.
Easton’s first Rudolph was 15 feet high and developed by Howard Adler of Adler Display Studios in Baltimore, MD, who had developed characters for Frontier Town in Ocean City as well as the Enchanted Forest in Ellicott City. The 2013 Rudolph was re-created by Gary Bystrom and his staff at Chisel 3D in Atlanta, GA, transported by truck to Easton, and installed by the Easton Utilities staff.
Crowds of people from Easton and beyond came to welcome Rulolph back on a rainy night, December 6, 2013, including Mayor Robert Willey, who was the first one to give Rudolph his Christmas list—a new set of golf clubs!
2014
Easton Utilities celebrates 100 years. Mayor Higgins’
vision for a modern and innovative Easton, supported by the tireless efforts of those stewards of that vision who followed, has resulted in a truly unique utility. Easton Utilities operates its seven businesses: electric, gas, water, wastewater, cable TV, high-speed Internet, and digital voice calling, with a staff of 131 (the same size a decade ago) bringing a combined utility experience of 1,833 years. Today, Easton Utilities is among only a small handful of utilities to offer the full range of utility services as a not-for-profit and is the only one that also offers IT Professional Services. The past century was built on a vision of meeting unmet needs with innovative, modern technology. As we look toward our next century, Easton Utilities is well-positioned to continue that proud tradition.
The Centennial Open House in May, 2014 featured activities for the whole family, including safety demonstrations (top left), award presentations (top right), displays (top center), games, food, music and various guests, including Cascading Carlos the Magician, The Oriole Bird (bottom center). Guests of all ages enjoyed the celebration.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS With Gratitude to: Talbot County Free Library, Maryland Room The Historical Society of Talbot County Kimberly Weller, The Weller Agency, Compilation & Design Amy Steward, Steward Writing & Communications, Writing & Editing The Easton Utilities Centennial Committee: Arnie Boughner, Tracie Thomas, Vicki Petro, Cheryl Bryan, Terri Bennett, Bill Russell, Jim Crowley, Paul Moffett, Fred Christie, Geoff Oxnam and Hugh Grunden Denny Clough and Harvey LeCates, Technical Advisement
Copyright Š 2014 by Easton Utilities Commission