Editing Easton, Maryland (section)

===Utilities===
Easton Utilities, which is owned by the town of Easton, provides electricity, natural gas, water, wastewater service, cable, internet, and telephone service to the town. The utility commission was founded in 1914 and had control of all utility services in 1923, making Easton the first community in the state to own all its utility services.<ref>{{cite web|title=History|publisher=Easton Utilities|url=http://eastonutilities.com/history/|access-date=August 27, 2017}}</ref> Easton Utilities provides electricity to over 10,000 customers, with most electricity purchased and some also generated by the town during times of high prices.<ref name="electric" /> The town owns 18 diesel-powered electric generators with a total capacity of 69 megawatts at two sites, one at a plant built in 1923 located in the center of town on Washington Street and the other located near the Easton Airport.<ref name="electric">{{cite web|title=Electric|publisher=Easton Utilities|url=http://eastonutilities.com/electric-overview/|access-date=August 27, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Rein|first=Lisa|title=Small Town Finds Its Little Utility Quite Empowering|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=September 25, 2008|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/24/AR2008092403329.html|access-date=August 27, 2017}}</ref> Easton Utilities provides natural gas to over 4,500 customers, with natural gas purchased from the [[Eastern Shore Natural Gas Company]]. The town's natural gas supply is piped from the [[Gulf of Mexico]] via an interstate pipeline to [[Federalsburg, Maryland|Federalsburg]], where {{convert|100|mi|km}} of steel and plastic mains then deliver it to customers in Easton. The town, which has owned the natural gas utility since 1923, formerly delivered gas to customers by burning coal at a plant on West Street, but converted to natural gas in 1966. Easton Utilities is the only municipal natural gas utility in Maryland.<ref>{{cite web|title=Natural Gas|publisher=Easton Utilities|url=http://eastonutilities.com/gas-overview/|access-date=August 27, 2017}}</ref> Easton Utilities provides water to 6,800 customers, with {{convert|84|mi|km}} of water mains and over 550 fire hydrants. The town gets its water from six wells that draw from underground aquifers, with the water then treated and stored. Easton Utilities provides wasterwater service to about 6,800 customers, operating more than {{convert|90|mi|km}} of wastewater mains, six pumping stations, and a wastewater treatment plant.<ref>{{cite web|title=Water & Wastewater|publisher=Easton Utilities|url=http://eastonutilities.com/water-overview/|access-date=August 27, 2017}}</ref> Easton Utilities' cable service, branded as Easton Velocity, is one of a few municipal cable systems in the United States. The cable system in Easton was first built in 1984 and upgraded to a hybrid fiber/coax design in 2001.<ref>{{cite web|title=Cable|publisher=Easton Utilities|url=http://eastonutilities.com/cable-overview/|access-date=August 27, 2017}}</ref> Internet service through Easton Utilities is provided under the Easton Velocity brand, utilizing a fiber-optic network.<ref>{{cite web|title=Internet|publisher=Easton Utilities|url=http://eastonutilities.com/internet-overview/|access-date=August 27, 2017}}</ref> Easton Utilities' telephone service operates under the Easton Velocity DigitalVoice brand.<ref>{{cite web|title=Phone|publisher=Easton Utilities|url=http://eastonutilities.com/phone-overview/|access-date=August 27, 2017|archive-date=August 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170828103349/http://eastonutilities.com/phone-overview/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The town's Public Works department provides trash and recycling collection to Easton, with trash collection utilizing automated tipper cans.<ref>{{cite web|title=Automated Tipper Cans|publisher=The Town of Easton, Maryland|url=http://eastonmd.gov/PublicWorks/TipperCans.html|access-date=August 27, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Recycling|publisher=The Town of Easton, Maryland|url=http://eastonmd.gov/PublicWorks/Recycling.html|access-date=August 27, 2017}}</ref>