BEL AIR, Md. — The small stream, which cuts through Bel Air’s Worthington Heights neighborhood, barely carries enough water to wade in until it became knee-deep with 750 thousand gallons of raw sewage.
“I used to work at a truck station in Baltimore, and we used to get fuel in, and the diesel fuel would come in seven thousand intervals,” said Andy Bowman, whose home borders the stream, “One tanker with seven thousand gallons of diesel at one time, and I said, ‘That’d be 10 trucks like that. No. That’d be a hundred trucks like that.”
Beware of the water: Raw sewage overflow reported in Bel Air stream
County public works crews quickly identified an 18-inch pipe, which failed during last week’s storms, as the source of the overflow.
They have since replaced the ruptured pipe after removing a swath of trees and carving a path down to the stream between a pair of homes on Sunny View Road, yet signs warning people to stay away from the stream remain in place for now.
“We did a survey of the Bynam Run on Friday, and we’re actually collecting some water samples today to kind of get some background information on the quality of the stream,” said County Environmental Health Director John Resline, “and then we’ll likely resample in a couple of days or a week or two to see if it’s changed any.”
The testing for bacteria and viruses, which could make people sick, can become more of a challenge each time it rains as stormwater carries its own measure of contaminants.
For now, residents in the area should heed the health department’s warnings.
"Until the signs are gone, the best preventative measure is don’t go in the water,” said Resline, “You know. Don’t fish. Try to keep your pets and your children out of the water so you don’t have to worry about are they going to get a health impact from the overflow.”
