Talbot County, Maryland

05/02/2024

Category: Public Works

On Tuesday, April 30, 2024, at approximately 3:30 p.m., the Talbot County Sanitary District (Sanitary District) was notified by a County Inspector that the ditch adjacent to the intersection of St. Michaels Road (MD Rt. 33) and Royal Oak Road (MD Rt. 329) was damp despite there being no rain for several days. There was no other evidence of a sewer leak.

On Wednesday, May 1, 2024, at approximately 7:30 a.m., Sanitary District staff were able to see bubbles come up from the road when the Pump Station was turned on manually. 

Sanitary District staff immediately turned off the pump station and contacted Sullivan’s Septic Service to pump and haul sewage from the Royal Oak Pump Station to the St. Michaels Sewage Treatment Plant until repairs could be made.  Retallack and Sons was contacted to investigate and when the area was uncovered, it was discovered that a gasket for a bell connection that joins pieces of pipe together had blown, causing the small leak.  Retallack & Sons repaired the bell joint. 

Approximately 300 gallons of raw sewage were released into the ground and into the nearby ditch.  Personnel from the Sanitary District spread lime on the ground. 

Until the pump station could be put back into service the wastewater was transported by Sullivan’s Septic Service to the Region II (St. Michaels) Wastewater Treatment Plant.  At approximately 4:00 p.m., Retallack and Sons completed the repairs to the force main and the pump station was re-activated to pump wastewater to the Region II Wastewater Treatment Plant.

The spill was reported to the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) shortly after 8:00 a.m. and a 5-day incident report is being completed. 

Personnel from the Office of Environmental Health inspected the site and the investigation of the discharge indicated that sewage did not reach navigable or shellfish harvesting waters of the State of Maryland.

If the public has any questions regarding the public health determination they may contact Brennan Greene, 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, contact Ray Clarke, County Engineer, at 410-770-8170.

sewage public works mde enivornmental health