Talbot County, Maryland

08/25/2023

Category: Public Works

On Friday, August 25, 2023, at approximately 2:00 p.m., the Talbot County Sanitary District (Sanitary District) was advised of a sewage leak next to the property at 9415 Unionville Road.  The spill resulted from K & T Utilities, LLC accidently boring into a force main along Unionville Road. 

K & T Utilities, LLC reported the break in the force main to the Talbot County Sanitary District shortly after hitting the force main with untreated wastewater discharging onto the ground.  K & T Utilities, LLC excavated a hole to assist the Sanitary District in collecting the untreated wastewater that was then pumped into a tanker truck owned by K & T Utilities, LLC. 

Staff from the Sanitary District contacted Retallack and Sons, LLC to make the repair to the force main, and Retallack and Sons, LLC had equipment on-site around 3:00 p.m.  Lime was spread 25-feet on each side of the damaged force main.  The force main that was damaged conveys wastewater from the residential properties in the villages of Tunis Mills, Copperville and Unionville to the Unionville Pump Station.

Around 2:30 p.m., the Talbot County Department of Public Works reported the leak to an Environmental Health representative. The Environmental Health initiated their investigation around 3:00 p.m., and it was determined that up to 1,000 gallons of untreated wastewater leaked out of the force main with some of the untreated wastewater being absorbed into the soil with most of the spill being recovered via a pump truck on-site.

The sewage discharge was immediately reported to the Maryland Department of the Environment, and the Environmental Health representative that visited the site confirmed the discharge of the untreated sewage as noted above.

The investigation of the discharge indicated that sewage did not reach navigable or shellfish harvesting waters of the State of Maryland. Based on this fact, as well as the ability of the soils and grasses located in the area of the spill to filter and attenuate the wastewater, the Office of Environmental Health determined that there was low to minimal impact to the public health and the environment.

If the public has any questions regarding the public health determination they may contact Anne Morse, Director of Environmental Health at 410-770-6880 Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

If the public has questions regarding the discharge or the corrective action that was taken they may contact Ray Clarke, County Engineer, at 410-770-8170.

sewage public works mde enivornmental health