Marvin Mandel, Governor                          1135

plants, hydrants, meters, valves and equipment, appurtenances and
all properties, rights, easements and franchises relating thereto and
deemed necessary or convenient by the Commission for the operation
thereof. The Commission shall also have the power to acquire any
existing water or distribution systems by purchase or otherwise, and
whether privately or publicly owned. The Commission shall also have
the power to take, acquire and hold any land, structures or buildings
or any stream bed, waterway, water rights or watershed in the
State of Maryland, either in fee or as an easement which may be
deemed necessary to carry out the provisions or intentions of this
subtitle. If the Commission may be unable to purchase any of the
foregoing from the owners thereof, it shall have the right to condemn
it through the method provided for condemnation of land by Public
Corporations under Article 33A of the Public General Laws of Mary-
land, or as it is amended from time to time, excluding transmission,
treatment and distribution facilities of existing municipal corporate
water supply systems.

631C. Preservation of Existing Water Rights.

On any watershed where any municipal corporation SPECIAL
TAXING DISTRICTS at the time of the enactment of this Act has
an impoundment and withdrawal rights, these withdrawals rights
WITHOUT COST shall be preserved in perpetuity unto that munici-
pal corporation SO LONG AS IT USES ITS OWN TRANSMISSION
LINES.

631D. Acceptance of Grants.

The Commission is hereby authorized to accept from any state,
or any state or federal agency, or from any political subdivision of
any state, or from any persons or corporations, grants of money or
anything else for the purpose of aiding in the acquisition and con-
struction of the water supply system heretofore mentioned in this
subtitle.

631E. Contracts and Agreements.

Immediately after the organization of the Commission, it shall
enter into those negotiations with Federal, State, County, or munic-
ipal agencies as may be empowered to grant and/or furnish funds
to the Commission to carry out the purposes of this subtitle, and it
is empowered to make any and all contracts and agreements requisite,
for the purpose of attaining, by grant or gift all or part of the
amount of money necessary for the acquisition and construction of
the water supply system mentioned in this subtitle and for surveys
and preliminary operations incidental to that acquisition and con-
struction, and also to accept it outright in the form of a grant or
gift. In the event the Commission shall be successful in such nego-
tiations and shall make contracts or agreements for the obtaining
of that aid, then and in that event, it shall begin the operations
required under the contracts or agreements, and in the manner set
forth in the contracts or agreements, it being the intention of this
subtitle that the Commission shall not bind itself nor the County
Commissioners of Allegany County to the expenditure of any moneys
for the capital outlay necessary for a water supply system or the
preliminaries necessary for the acquisition or construction thereof,
except as is hereinafter provided for.