WATERS EDGE FLASH 

August 2025

News & Updates

Community Upkeep:

• Architectural Inspections have been completed. You should expect notices of repairs soon. Please be timely in attending to repairs. Architectural inspections are necessary for the compliance of community bylaws, but more than that, it is necessary for the health of our home's exterior, both aesthetically and financially.

• What’s been “bugging” you? We’ve gotten a large influx of complaints about mosquitoes this summer. The Board decided, albeit a tad late in the season, to contract a mosquito control company to help us out. We were hesitant early in the season because we just didn’t think it would do much, being that Water’s Edge is basically located in a swamp, and the rains were relentless for most of June and July. We got some proposals and they were pretty reasonable to give it a try for the sake of giving the community a chance to enjoy the beautiful outdoors that make Water’s Edge the envy of Columbia. Mosquitos also carry certain diseases and viruses, and we need to think about the health of our community. The application happened last Thursday, and so far, it seems to have drastically reduced the mosquito population. I (Scott S., 5637) am outside as many as 4 times a day, at all times of the day, playing with our dog Olive near the forest/creek on the Odd Side, so I’ve been a good barometer of the “buggy” conditions. It really does seem to have had an effect. Keep in mind, we can only control our immediate area, and we have a swampy lake and other close neighborhoods around us, so this cannot be a universal solution, but so far it seems to have helped. If you have any questions or comments, please let HPM know, or come by one of the Board meetings. 

• Other things we can all do to help, at no cost to anyone: try to avoid any standing water around the exterior of your home. Even the tiniest, seemingly inconsequential pool of water can be a breeding ground for mosquitos. So if you see any standing water around your home, please DUMP IT!  

• The application will happen a few more times every couple weeks until the end of the season. 

• We have contacted CA to see what they can/will do to help with their property that surrounds us. They talk a good game, but their actions are less than ideal.

• Street Light Update: The Board has decided, after many months of information gathering, to renew our contract with BGE. This will afford us all new & uniform poles and lights across the entire neighborhood (including the take down and installation), at nearly the same price we've been paying for many, many years.

• After thorough discussion, field trips to other parts of Columbia and resident input, the Board decided on using the same “look” as the current lights, ie; the “flying saucer”, but in a black version. The poles will also be black. 

• The light temperature (color) will be slightly different and may be surprising at first. The current light bulb is a sodium vapor bulb that BGE does not offer anymore. It gives a very orange glow. The update to LED bulbs is required, and the light temperature will look whiter/brighter than our current lights. We’ve done everything in our power to get the light color to be as close to what we have, but some change was necessary to get the fixture style that we wanted. 

• We will update the community as we get more information on when installation may happen. 

• Landscaping: We will be looking to try to improve some more of the landscaping similar to what we did in front of 5621 and 5692 at the appropriate seasonal time. Keep an eye out for more info on that as we work on it.   

Community Affairs:

• The next meeting will be on September 25th. Please keep an eye out for signage for place and time. 

New Architecture:

• No new architectural applications approved. 

Home Sales:

• No new home sales 

Reminders

Architectural Applications

• HPM has provided The Board with a convenient flowchart to explain when a Water’s Edge Architecture Application and when a Town Center Architecture Application is needed. 

• You can find the forms and guidelines here: https://www.watersedgecommunity.org/architectural-guidelines

Community/Property Safety

• Practice the 4 L’s: Lock doors (home and auto), Light your house, Listen and Lookout

• Refrain from keeping expensive items in cars.

• ALWAYS alert police to suspicious activity. 

Communicating with the Board

• If you’d like to communicate with the Board, simply Reply (not Reply All), to this email.

• Additionally, you can contact HPM, and your message will get relayed to the Board.

• Additionally, you can come to a Board meeting and participate in Resident Speakout. 

Trash/Recycling/Composting

• Trash, recycling, and composting containers should not be visible from the parking areas.  They must be behind a privacy fence or in the rear of the house.

• Recycling materials must be put out using one of the blue receptacles or paper bags.  The county will no longer collect recyclables in plastic bags.

• If the recycling or trash collectors miss materials, please contact the county at 410-313-6444.

• Link to the Howard County Bureau of Environmental Services https://www.howardcountymd.gov/Departments/Public-Works/Bureau-Of-Environmental-Services

Power Outages

• In the event of a power outage in your home or with one of the parking lot lights, please notify BGE via BGE.com or call 1-800-685-0123.  The more reports, the more likely we are to receive expedient service.

Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

• All instructions and information regarding the EV chargers are located on our community website here: https://www.watersedgecommunity.org/e-vehicle-chargers