An Irene P.S. - another sewage spill
Just when it seemed storm-spawned sewer overflows were done, another one happened over the weekend.
Baltimore County's Department of Public Works reported more than 500,000 gallons of untreated sewage spilled out Saturday morning near the Patapsco pumping station in Baltimore Highlands. The overflow occurred on a 40-foot stretch of force main that had recently been replaced because it ruptured during or right after Hurricane Irene blew through the area.
A leak was detected last Wednesday in the replacement 54-inch diameter pipe, which had been put in on September 1. Utility crews excavated the pipe and discovered a joint failure. Sewage overflowed while repairs were under way to fix the joint.
Health officials have extended the water-contact warning they issued after the original overflow, cautioning against swimming, wading or touching the Patapsco downriver of the spill. County officials estimated 85 million gallons of diluted but raw sewage spilled into the Patapsco during the original pipe rupture, which took nearly a week to fix. Another 13.6 million gallons spilled into the river when power went out.
The public beach in the Hammerman area of Gunpowder State Park remains closed to recreation because of Irene-related spills, and water-contact warnings are still in effect on nine other county waterways.
In all, Baltimore County reported more than 100 million gallons of diluted but raw sewage overflowed into Baltimore area rivers and streams during and after the storm, according to data logged by the Maryland Department of the Environment. Many localities reported overflows, though none as large. Second highest was Prince George's County, which reported about 20 million gallons overflowed in all.
(Worker walks by broken sewer pipe off Annapolis Road near Patapsco River, Sept. 2. Baltimore Sun Photo by Kenneth K. Lam)
Comments
Who pays for this repair? Was the "failed joint" caused by faulty installation or manufacturing error?
TW: Good question, Jen. In the original force main rupture, county public works spokesman David Fidler suggested the pipe had worn out before its time. Though it was reportedly installed decades ago, Fidler said there have been other failures of concrete pipes of that vintage, leading officials to suspect manufacturing defects. This most recent overflow blamed on a "failed joint" sounds like the county's saying the repair work wasn't as careful as it could've been - or that there was perhaps another premature equipment failure. The county might withhold payment to a contractor if the repair didn't fix the problem. In the case of the decades-old pipe, the county may have a harder time proving it deserves to be compensated for defects in such a long-ago manufacture. But if enough money's at stake, and the evidence is strong enough, I can certainly see where it might be worth trying.
Posted by: Jen | September 20, 2011 8:58 AM
"and water-contact warnings are still in effect on nine other county waterways."
It might be nice to list those waterways.
TW: Clicking on two of the four links in the post would take you to the complete list, Mark. Guess I could've made that clearer, though, so here it is:
"The following waters are known to have been directly affected by sewage overflows:
•The Patapsco River south of Ilchester Rd., continuing to the river mouth.
•Jones Falls, east of Greenspring Valley Rd.
•Beaver Dam Run, east of Recycle Way.
•Brice Run, south of Liberty Rd.
•Lake Roland, south of Bellona Ave.
•Gunpowder River, east of Philadelphia Rd.
•Back River-Muddy Gut, south west of Rt.702.
•Chink Creek, south of Wise Ave.
•Jones Creek, south of Sparrows Pt. Rd.
•Old Road Bay south of Bay Front Rd."
The county advises that "persons who have open cuts or wounds or who are health compromised should avoid contact with cloudy or debris strewn waters. If contact is unavoidable, wash exposed skin areas thoroughly."
Posted by: Mark Takacs | September 20, 2011 9:36 AM
And the governor wants to ban septic systems? How many septic systems failed? Big-pipe sewers and wastewater treatment plants are prone to problems and pollution. There is no way to make significnat strides in cleaning the bay until our wastewater model changes away from centralized systems.
Posted by: Dennis | September 21, 2011 12:45 PM
Dennis,
Centralized sewage systems are much more effective than individual septics. First, nutrient removal is much more effective and cost-effective in wastewater treatment plants. Although large sewage spills are certainly bad, septics represent a much greater threat overall. Consider there are 424,000 septics in MD. The average family of 4 uses 400 gallons of water/day. All the sewage spills from centralized systems this year only represent about 3 days of outflow to those septic systems.
Posted by: Bay Data | September 28, 2011 1:08 PM