Inspection Reveals Baltimore Wastewater Plants Dumped Excessive Sewage Into Rivers
State environmental inspections have found that the two wastewater treatment facilities serving Baltimore have illegally dumped an average of more than 100 million gallons of partially treated effluent per day into sources that feed the critical Chesapeake Bay.
“The amount being discharged each day into the Patapsco and Back rivers was enough to fill a wading pool the size of 295-acre Patterson Park, according to the environmental group Blue Water Baltimore, which discovered and reported the high levels of fecal matter in both rivers to the Maryland Department of Environment [MDE],” according to The Baltimore Sun. “MDE inspectors found higher than acceptable levels of harmful bacteria, nitrogen and phosphorus emitted from the two plants.”
The two facilities now face a formal enforcement action that might include a fine of $10,000 per day for violating environmental regulations. And this would add to the fundamental problems that caused these illegal discharges in the first place.
“City officials attributed the problems to significant equipment and staffing issues,” per the Sun. “The state said that at the Patapsco plant, a failure to contain the fats, oils and grease that residents dump down their drains indicated ‘a major treatment design problem’ that threatened the integrity of plant systems. At the Back River plant, inspectors found that the excessive pollution escaping the treatment systems was the result of ‘significant operations and maintenance issues.’”
Blue Water Baltimore’s discovery has also raised questions about oversight from MDE and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which are supposed to be supervising the city’s compliance with a consent decree imposed after numerous violations in the past.
“There was a period of time that the city was not reporting in writing certain violations as required which has now been resolved,” MDE spokesperson Maggie Cavey told BaltimoreBrew when it asked her about that criticism.
Despite that criticism, public officials have provided a message of confidence regarding future fixes to the problem.
“The root causes for the violations have been identified by [the Department of Public Works] and will be addressed systematically to ensure we achieve 100% compliance,” Public Works Director Jason W. Mitchell said, per BaltimoreBrew.
But, like many cities around the country, Baltimore faces fundamental infrastructure issues in its drinking water and wastewater treatment systems, which will always make adequate treatment a challenge until they are addressed.
“The problems at the plants compound sewage infrastructure issues facing Baltimore, which is operating under a federal consent decree to upgrade its aging wastewater system to stop sewage overflows by 2030,” per the Sun. “The city and the county are spending about $1.6 billion for the upgrades.”
To read more about violations of rules that govern wastewater treatment, visit Water Online’s Wastewater Regulations And Legislation Solutions Center.