There is a water theme here due to the summer months of 1999.� However, the water (read that drought) situation in Maryland and elsewhere took a turn for the worse in July, August and September with the evidence of some environmental consequences. On August 4th Maryland's Governor Glendening ordered mandatory water cutbacks to address the� water emergency in our state. The cutbacks include turning off the public fountains that you see on this page. We have all seen damage to farm crops in person, on TV or in the print media. With some rain at the end of August, the mandatory water rationing was ended on September 1st. But much damage was done to crops and trees. A 16% reduction in water use has been reported during the period of the cutbacks. Then, in September, came the tropical storms and flooding.