Elkridge Environmentalist Says Sewage Spill in Patapsco River 'Very Serious'

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 who lives in Elkridge. McMillion is the executive director for the Friends of the Patapsco Valley and Heritage Greenway, a group whose mission, in part, is to protect and heal the already polluted river.

McMillion 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. “They can get very sick from it. Stay away from it. Let the government do their job.

Anne Arundel County Health Department has closed a section of the river south of the rupture leading to the Inner Harbor. The Baltimore County Health Department has warned residents to avoid contact.

Baltimore 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.

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. “Knowing how the budget restrictions are, we know we can’t have the government out there monitoring things all the time.” 

McMillion 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.”