BALTIMORE (WMAR) — Community groups continue to test the water quality of the Back River area three weeks after the state took control of the city’s wastewater treatment plant.
Blue Water Baltimore’s harbor waterkeeper said the latest results from their in-house lab showed bacteria levels 180 times higher than Maryland's recreational limit.
“We are deeply concerned about the implications for public health, and we are working with MDE to collect more information about the source of the high bacteria levels,” said Alice Volpitta.
“It’s really hard to put into words just how discouraging it is. You think it’s going in the right direction and we’re being told it’s going in the right direction and that clearly indicates that it’s not,” said Desiree Greaver, project manager with the Back River Restoration Committee.
Mid-March, the Back River Restoration Committee and Blue Water Baltimore found elevated levels of bacteria, as well as floating solids, in the water by the plant’s discharge pipe.
It prompted a state inspection, which found discharge violations, as well as operational and mechanic issues as the plant; such as broken or malfunctioning equipment.
The Maryland Department of the Environment put the Maryland Environmental Service, which is responsible for state-owned plants, in charge of the Back River WWTP.
MDE said the sample is not raw sewage and it could be connected to discharges from past operations and current maintenance activities. The strong odor in both samples is similar to nutrient rich, oxygen-depleted marsh mud.
MDE is seeking to review those samples, saying water quality can deteriorate due to pollution caused by runoff after storm events, trash, debris, or sewage, including sewage overflows.
“While water quality issues can be caused by a range of factors, the Department’s review of WWTP discharge monitoring records show some recent elevated levels of bacteria and solids in recent days. However, they do NOT appear to be at levels that would explain the reported levels for the river. The Department notes that intense and increased maintenance activities at the plant could lead to temporary or sporadic increases in solids in its discharge,” an MDE spokesman wrote in a statement.
The Department is planning to conduct a field study, collect more sediment samples in the river and compare them to the material in the WWTP to better understand and determine the source of the issue.
“Had we not gone out Tuesday, would anyone have let us know what was happening? And I honestly think the answer is no. I honestly think they would never have let anyone know what was going on and we would have been putting our health at risk because they’re not telling us. They’re putting our health at risk actually,” said Greaver.
Greaver went back out Thursday morning to collect more samples after the alarming results. Those results are expected mid-Friday. She wants there to be monitoring mechanisms in place to let people know when the water isn’t safe, especially as it’s getting warmer and people will want to be out on the water.
“We have so many people that could get sick from this. We have people that live on the water. People want to be out on the water. They want to kayak. They want to fish. They want to jet ski. At this rate, we can’t be out there and we have nothing in place to notify residents of water safety,” said Greaver.
Maryland’s most recent water quality assessment report describes historic water quality concerns for Back River, for such issues as suspended solids, low dissolved oxygen, pesticide and PCBs in Back River.
MDE oversees a program in which beaches across the state are monitored for water quality during the summer swimming season and advisories are made public when needed.
