Talbot County, Maryland

12/15/2022

Category: Public Works

On Wednesday, December 14, 2022 at approximately 5:10 p.m. the Talbot County SanitaryDistrict (Sanitary District) was contacted regarding a suspected discharge of untreated sewage to a roadside drainage ditch in the vicinity of the intersection of Maryland Route 33 (St. Michaels Road) and Maryland Route 370 (Unionville Road). Personnel from the Sanitary District arrived on site at approximately 5:30 p.m. and confirmed the discharge of approximately 7,000 to 10,000 gallons of untreated sewage into the drainage ditch along Maryland Route 370 (Unionville Road). An investigation into the incident determined that a faulty gasket in an air release valve was leaking and subsequently caused the wastewater discharge. Maryland Department of the Environment was promptly notified of the incident.

The Sanitary District immediately contacted Tyler Septic Services Co. and Bridges Septic and Sewer Drain, LLC, who arrived with pumper trucks to assist with the clean-up of the discharge. The faulty valve was isolated to prevent further discharge of wastewater until the replacement valve was installed. Retallack and Sons, Inc. was contacted to assist with the replacement of the valve. Crews worked throughout the night to ensure that no further discharge of wastewater occurred and to replace the faulty valve. Once the clean-up was completed, lime was added to the area of the discharge.

The Talbot County Health Department Office of Environmental Health was contacted regarding the details of the discharge. A site visit made on the morning of Thursday, December 15, 2022 by a representative from that office who confirmed that there was no detectable presence of sewage into the drainage network in the vicinity of the discharge. Heavy rainfall was occurring at the time of the Health Department investigation and contributed to the dilution of any residual sewage. The Health Department representative determined that there was no evidence that the sewage discharge had reached navigable waters of the State. Based on the timely response of the Sanitary District, and the fact that the discharge was recovered by the pumper trucks, the Office of Environmental Health determined that there was low to minimal impact to the public health.

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. or after hours by contacting the Talbot County Operations Center at 410-822-0095. The Operations Center will contact the Environmental Health Specialist on call.

If the public has questions regarding the discharge or the corrective action that was taken they may contact Ray Clarke, County Engineer, at 410-770-817

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