Environmental Group Says Sewage Spill in Patapsco River 'Very Serious'

The executive director of an environmental group devoted to the Patapsco River said Wednesday the sewage spill that has been polluting the river for four days is the worst she's seen and "people can get very sick from it" if they come in contact with the water.

Almost 17 million gallons of raw sewage have been flowing into the Patapsco River per day following the rupture of a 54-inch pipe near the Patapsco Sewage Pumping Station on Annapolis Road in Baltimore Highlands late Saturday.

"It's very serious," said Betsy McMillion, a former public works employee for Howard County, and now the executive director for the Friends of the Patapsco Valley and Heritage Greenway Inc., a group whose mission is, in part, to protect and heal the already polluted river.

She said she had never seen such a bad spill, but she said Baltimore County Public Works officials realize the seriousness of the situation.

“It’s thrown in with Hurricane Irene and all the other stuff going on," she said. "It’s just the worst timing.”

She warned residents to stay away from the contaminated water.

“There’s really nothing they can do,” McMillion said. “Stay away from it. They can get very sick from it. Let the government do their job.

"Even though it might look like it's safe, it might not be safe. I know they want to help, but I think they’re going to be more of a hinderance."

County Public Works officials said the leak would hopefully be plugged by Friday, but at 17 million gallons each day, around 100 million gallons of sewage will have been pumped into the Patapsco by then.

A dozen pumping stations also overflowed over the weekend as Irene dumped rain on the region, including the Valley Village and Carroll Avenue stations in Owings Mills. A small sign was posted on the roadside near the intersection of Greenspring Valley Road and Cradock Lane Wednesday, warning of contaminated water.

The river will naturally recover, McMillion said, but downstream areas will continue to feel the effects of the leak. The spilled sewage will ultimately end up in the Chesapeake Bay, she said.

Despite the enormity of the problem, McMillion did not blame county officials for the leak or fault them in their response thus far.

“It’s always very frustrating when this happens, but we realize it is a reality,” McMillion said. “It is a modern day reality. Knowing how the budget restrictions are, we know we can’t have the government out there monitoring things all the time.” 

McMillion said she had not been in contact with Baltimore County, but attributed that to the ongoing power outage.

She encouraged concerned citizens to flood the inboxes and voice mails of county officials.

“If they [the county] just hear from a handful of people, the pressure’s not on,” McMillion said. “But if you get calls from 100 or 200 people, it gets put to the top of the list.

“Just start asking questions [of] our county officials.”