Canoe Down a River of Sewage

Caitlin Harris

Development Affects Wastewater

            “Progress is inevitable, yet it must be planned.” [1]   Though this quote was written in 1989 its words still ring true today.  Paddling on the Wicomico River one fine morning I thought about all the changes and “progress” that have taken place along the shoreline and surrounding area of the Wicomico River.  First, I paddled past the small townhouses, littered with trash, near the large businesses of the city.  As I paddled further from the city modest “white-picket fence” houses dotted the landscape.  Just when the mid-day heat took a toll on my body, the luxury waterfront homes with private piers, speedboats, and golf-course-style green grass appeared in the distance.  The stark differences between these homes speak volumes about the changes in Wicomico County, the Wicomico River, and the people of Wicomico. 

Waterfront Property on the Wicomico

Photo Courtesy of Caitlin Harris

 

            American culture has changed drastically throughout America’s short history.  The desired location of homes used to be within the city.  Times have changed and many cities now appear to be predominately ghost towns, or sites of low-income housing.  The desired location of a home is now on a nice 2-3 acre plot of land, at least a 15-minute drive in your new SUV from the pollution of the city.  Ahh…the American dream.  

The growth that Wicomico County has been experiencing throughout its history has affected the people, wildlife, and landscape of the county.  Many people see the development of houses, industries, offices, schools, churches, and shopping centers as a positive progression...and in some ways it is.  But along with all of these facilities comes a forgotten issue, though we are contributing to it everyday.  Wastewater.  It is not a glamorous topic by any means, but it is an issue of the utmost importance to governments, politicians, wildlife, people, and rivers everywhere.  The author of a Daily Times article says with emotion, “The Wicomico River is too important to the area to allow it to become contaminated enough to kill wildlife, habitat and recreational opportunities because there isn’t enough money to support the development and growth taking place in the Salisbury and Wicomico County area.” [2]   Wastewater issues must be planned for when coping with “inevitable” progress, yet the problems we face today surrounding wastewater suggests that proper planning has not taken place in Wicomico County.

 

Through the Eyes of Mayor Barrie Tilghman and Sam Gibson

            Mayor Barrie Tilghman is the Democratic mayor of Salisbury.  Fifty-one years old, energetic, intelligent, busy, and confident the mayor embodies the quote, “Toughness doesn’t have to come in a pinstripe suit.” [3]   Wicomico County has often been considered to be run by the “good ‘ol boys” and as one of the first women in the City of Salisbury to acquire a high political position, she has encountered a great deal of opposition.  Despite the fact that she has often dealt with resistance, Mayor Tilghman is described as being receptive to citizen’s concerns.  When news of Salisbury’s Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) overflows came to public attention Mayor Tilghman stated, “We are not where we need to be, but it is important to provide this information so residents will understand we are working in a progressive, planned and positive manner to ensure protection of the health and safety of our residents and the environment of the lower Eastern Shore.” [4]

            Sam Gibson is one of these concerned residents.  A county resident, employee of Salisbury University, environmentalist, and avid kayaker he has noted the environmental problems surrounding the Wicomico River.  Talking to Sam one gets the understanding that not only is he concerned, he is, most importantly, very motivated to effect positive change on the part of the River.    Sam is a pleasant and friendly guy…the kind of guy you would love to spend a lazy Saturday afternoon hiking with.  Extremely well educated and knowledgeable about environmental issues he also realizes the complexity of political processes that surround the WWTP.  Though Sam appreciates this difficulty, he takes a proactive environmental approach on the part of the Wicomico River.  Sam Gibson and Tom Lilly (a Salisbury attorney) are co-founders of Stop Overflowing Sewers (SOS).  SOS has been instrumental in pushing the city to take a proactive approach in dealing with the wastewater issue.  SOS declares themselves to be, “A group that will change things around here;” [5] that is exactly what Salisbury needs.

            Both Mayor Barrie Tilghman and Sam Gibson deal with the problems created by the Waste Water Treatment Plant on the Wicomico River.   Though Sam and Mayor Tilghman deal with the same issue, they see it in very different ways.  Sam, the environmentalist, notices the environmental degradation of the river through the distressed eyes of a kayaker who sees his favorite paddle becoming polluted.  Mayor Barrie Tilghman sees the conflicting side of numbers, politics, money, and people.  She must work with the oppositional county government, the concerned Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE), the local media, a small budget, public works, state contractors (O’Brien and Gere), and, most importantly, her citizens. 

 

Wastewater Treatment Plant Technology

            Wastewater treatment facilities are relatively new technologies that, for the most part, are more beneficial to the river than harmful.  Wastewater disposal has come a long way from the outhouses and pipes that once flowed directly into the river.  The technologies available now for wastewater treatment facilities are current, sophisticated, and carefully regulated by the EPA and state Department of the Environment.  Careful regulation, modern facilities, and sustainable population growth would be the perfect scenario for treatment of wastewater.  Unfortunately lackadaisical regulation, antiquated facilities, and unsustainable population growth are the real life problems that face wastewater treatment plants around the country.

            To understand the complex issues that surround wastewater treatment plants a basic understanding of the facilities is necessary.  Sewage treatment is classified according to primary and secondary treatments.  Primary treatment removes 35% of the pollution by settling.  Secondary treatment uses biological processes to reduce the pollution of the sewage by an additional 50%.  During the primary treatment process easily settleable and floating solids are removed:  first, the sewage flows through a screen that is designed to remove trash.  The grit removal chamber permits stones, sand, and grit to settle out.  The flowmeter indicates the rate at which sewage is flowing through the treatment plant and records the daily accumulated sewage flow.  The clarifier is where much of the sludge settles to the bottom and is then pumped to the sludge digestion tank.  In the sludge digestion tank, the drying beds dry the sludge well enough to burn, or put on agricultural fields.  Much of the sludge that comes from Salisbury’s wastewater treatment plant is put on agricultural fields.  Finally, the liquid flowing from the primary clarifier is disinfected in the chorine contact tank and then discharged into the Wicomico River. [6]

“Secondary treatment is used where a stream cannot take care of the materials remaining in suspension in the liquid flowing from the primary clarifier or sedimentation tank.” [7]   In the trickling filter (Salisbury’s current system) wastewater is sprayed on a bed of stones.  As the liquid trickles down between the stones it comes into contact with a biological jelly that feeds on the organic matter in the liquid; this way impurities are reduced.  The liquid flowing from the trickling filter is then directed to a secondary clarifier where a major portion of the remaining solids settle and are pumped to the sludge digestion tank.

Trickling Filter

Photo Courtesy of Carrie Maase

 

The Salisbury Wastewater Treatment Plant: A Combined Sewer System

The Salisbury Wastewater Treatment Plant is a combined sewer system.  Combined sewer systems receive stormwater, sanitary sewer discharges from residents and businesses, and wastewater discharges from industrial facilities and transport it all through a single pipe.  The major problem with a combined sewer system is that it does not have separate pipes for stormwater and sewage.  The sewers can overflow during heavy rains and the result is that raw sewage is discharged into the Wicomico River.  A Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) “occurs when flows into the combined sewer system exceed the treatment and storage capacity of the sewer system and waste treatment facility.  At this point, the combined waste stream overflows into rivers without treatment.” [8]

Warning Sign of Combined Sewer Overflow

             Photo Courtesy of Carrie Maase

 

Salisbury has one of eight sewer systems in the State of Maryland that was originally built as a combined sewer system. Out of the eight combined sewer systems in Maryland, the City of Salisbury has the least number of CSO events.  But the WWTP in Salisbury has averaged two events per year over the last four years.  In a informational pamphlet on Salisbury’s WWTP the City of Salisbury states, “Since 1988, the City has been actively working to reduce CSOs.  In the past thirteen years, we have spent $1.3 million to eliminate known points at which stormwater enters into our sanitary sewer system. In the next three years, we plan to spend an additional $450,000 to eliminate the remaining known cross-curriculum connections.” [9]   Combined Sewer Overflows are a primary problem with many aging systems, but through elimination of connections where stormwater enters the sanitary sewer system the City of Salisbury hopes to eliminate all CSO events entirely.  The final separation of the Combined Sewage system is in the downtown area where roof gutters tie into sewers.  After this separation takes place the City of Salisbury will no longer be a Combined Sewer System. 

 

The History of the Salisbury Wastewater Treatment Plant

            A canoe down the Wicomico River in 1955 would have revealed quiet coves teeming with great blue herons and mallards. Development was centered around the city and on the river.  Not everything was perfect with this seemingly ideal landscape though, because pipes of raw sewage flowed into the river from individual properties.  Awareness was growing in the small town of Salisbury though.  Major social changes were taking place and de-segregation of the local schools was major news.  The normal day might consist of watching the popular television show Superman, gathering as a family to listen to a radio program, and a trip to the A&P to buy a 37cent jar of peanut butter.  Life went on in the same routine for everyday folks.  But major changes were in store for the people, wildlife, and Wicomico River, for the mighty Salisbury Wastewater Treatment Plant was being built.

The Salisbury WWTP was first built with a capacity of 2.3 million gallons per day (MGD).  A new technology at the time, it kept the river healthy and clean, though at a great cost to the community.  A 1955 article from The Salisbury Times states that, “July 18 will set a record for the city for incurring its biggest debt in one package in history.  That’s the day sealed bids will be opened in City Hall on an $800,000 municipal sewage plant bond issue.  Previously, $400,000 was the biggest single bond issue…. The debt is scheduled to be eliminated in 27 years.” [10]   The enormous expense of a Wastewater Treatment Plant in Salisbury was deemed necessary and voters authorized city officials to impose sewer charges and/or taxes to pay for the Wastewater Treatment Plant bonds. [11]    A long-term expense to the city, the last of the bonds would take until 1982 to mature. [12]   The cost of the sewage plant and system was an extraordinary amount for its time totaling $2,000,000, but it was a necessary expenditure because it meant that “the city will halt dumping of most of its sewage into the Wicomico River, a practice long frowned on by state officials.” [13]     The citizens of the town knew that a change needed to take place in the interest of the Wicomico River and undertook the burden of sewer charges and taxes. 

In the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s the major wastewater polluter of the river was not the WWTP but individual property owners or businesses pumping their sewage directly into the river.  In September of 1964, major pollution was discovered in the Wicomico River.  A team of sanitarians sampled water for bacteria content from the mouth of the Wicomico up to Salisbury. When sources of pollution were discovered the owner of the property was given a period of time to clean up the problem.  “In Salisbury, there are a few cases where polluted water is being dumped into the river…. Notices have been sent to property owners where raw sewage is being piped directly into the river. These properties must connect to the city’s sewer system.” [14]   Because some communities in the county were settled before lot restrictions, the soil in these areas became saturated.  “Septic tanks are so numerous that pollution is the natural result,” Biologist, Dr. Fritz said.  “The ultimate answer is probably a central system of sewage disposal.” [15]

On May 31, 1978, 600 acres of shellfish harvesting water on the Wicomico River were closed due to poor water qualities.  Public health officials declared the affected area so polluted that the shellfish were hazardous to public health.  The source of the problem was found to be fecal coliform bacteria, which enters the water through runoff of rainwater or overflowing septic systems. [16]   Serious pollution on the Wicomico River was discovered and documented in the 1960s and 1970s, but the cause of these problems was not the WWTP, but septic systems usage.

            The first upgrade to the Wastewater Treatment Plant was in 1971 when the capacity of the plant was expanded to 6.8 MGD to accommodate growth within the city.  The last major upgrade to Salisbury’s Wastewater Treatment Plant was in 1988.  “This upgrade added phosphorus removal, improved chlorination/de-chlorination, aeration, and grit removal.” [17] The third upgrade to the WWTP occurred in 1995 when a pilot program for Biological Nutrient Removal (BNR) was introduced.  The full-scale program for BNR was conducted between September 1996 and August 1997 that reduced the total nitrogen entering the Wicomico River from 21md/L to less than 8md/L. 

 

The Beginning of a Big Political Problem

In 1998 politicians anticipated the growing pains of the antiquated WWTP.  In a Daily Times article from 1998, Mayor Tilghman was quoted requesting, “the Department of Public Works prepare a plan for the extension of utilities, accommodating growth and failing septic for the future.” [18]   Consultants O’Brien and Gere were selected to review the WWTP and write a master plan for the facility in 1999.  The plan was completed and presented to the City Council in Spring 2000.  This is where the political drama began.  On August 1, 2000, the City requested an amendment from the County Council to Wicomico County’s Comprehensive Water Sewer Master Plan in accordance with state law. “This included the City’s desire to expand its capacity in two phases, going from 6.8 to 8.5 and ultimately to 10.2 MGD.” [19]   However, the County Council first tabled the City’s request and then declined the request on December 19, 2000 awaiting the negotiation of an urban services agreement.

The urban services agreement between the city and county extends city water and sewer lines beyond city limits.  The county agrees to pay double the rates, but does not pay the city taxes.  Urban services agreements are commonly formed around the country to provide city services to the county.  In some respects these agreements contribute money to the city’s economy.  However, they also rob the city of a stronger tax base and provide the catalyst for suburban sprawl. When the City of Salisbury put the urban services agreement into effect, they decided to extend water and sewer to Perdue Stadium and Wor-Wic Community College (both outside City limits).  Then, finally, the County agreed to approve the City of Salisbury’s 11-month-old request for increased capacity at the WWTP.  The political struggle ended with both sides deciding to solve a potentially disastrous problem with a quick solution.  By increasing the capacity of the Wastewater Treatment Plant the county and city encouraged suburban sprawl and did not consider the increasing stress on an already antiquated and out-of-date WWTP.

 

 

Salisbury’s Clash With the E.P.A.

Amidst this tumultuous political scene, Salisbury’s wastewater treatment plant was still feeling the burden of an aging combined sewer system.  The first wastewater treatment violation was handed to Salisbury in 1999 for improperly dumping sludge on the land.  The $16,000 fine is being appealed by Salisbury. [20]    Then, in February 2000, the EPA fined the city $137,500 for allowing metals, raw sewage, and other pollutants into the Wicomico River.  Also, the city failed to punish Perdue Farms for unrelated wastewater treatment violations.  Power outages and mechanical failures at the city’s plant caused the violations.  The fines imposed by the EPA caused a great deal of commotion within the City of Salisbury.  An editorial from the Daily Times paints a picture of some of the attitudes at the time, “It appears at face that the EPA is swooping down and handing out penalties without doing much to help Salisbury solve its problems….  Rather than paying a penalty, wouldn’t it be better if the city could spend the fine money and assorted lawyer’s fees fixing whatever problems exist at the West Side sewer facility….  Is the government’s aim to punish municipal violators-or keep the offensive acts from occurring in the first place?” [21]   

However, Roy Sneca (EPA agency spokesman) said, “We (the EPA) have been making proposals all along to Salisbury.” [22]   The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency presented city officials with numerous offers to settle the $137,500 fine for wastewater violations, but Salisbury officials disputed the fine, saying the agency was holding the city’s plant to unfair standards.    What is the EPA to do?  Obviously they want cleaner waterways. When cities fail to meet environmental standards again and again the EPA is forced to fine the city.  The purpose of the fines are to make the city aware that the problems need to be fixed now.  The City of Salisbury failed to comply with some very important environmental standards and did not act upon any previous warnings by the EPA.  The only thing the EPA can do now is to hit the entire City of Salisbury where it hurts…the pocket book.

The city has also filed a lawsuit against the MDE to increase the total maximum daily loads of pollutants that can be added to the Wicomico River.  City officials are feuding with the MDE and EPA because they feel that they cannot possibly comply with the regulations set forth by the MDE and EPA.   However, instead of fighting with these organizations, paying lawyers, and further delaying WWTP upgrade, the city of Salisbury should fix its wastewater treatment plant now before its too late.  As Sam Gibson states, “It seems that the city government is more concerned about not paying the fine instead of being retroactive.  We should lead by example.   Why do we need someone to tell us how to keep the river clean?” [23]

 

River Closings and Overflows

The Salisbury WWTP collects samples each week from various locations on the Wicomico River to test for fecal coliform.  If high bacteria levels are present in the water the Wicomico River gets closed for all recreational uses.  Boaters, fishers, and swimmers all advised not to have any contact with the river until water testing shows the river is safe again.  Wastewater Treatment Plant operator Dave Winslow says, “I hate to have the river shut down.  It’s a recent phenomena to close the river, but its necessary.” [24] River closings are an obvious sign of the WWTP’s pollution of the Wicomico River.   When a sign in the river reads, “Swimming and fishing advisory in effect until further notice” the public will and should be concerned. 

On March 21, 2001 the swimming and fishing advisory sign was displayed because heavy rains created a combined sewer overflow and 200,000 gallons of wastewater overflowed into the river.  Mayor Tilghman stated, “ We generally put out 5.5 million gallons of (treated) affluent a day, and that is well within our discharge permit.  But that day with the rain, there were 13.5 million gallons.” [25] Public works halted all river activities until at least April 9^th.  The river was closed again after an August 10, 2001 storm created heavy rains and caused a six-hour power outage at a pumping station and overwhelmed Salisbury’s wastewater treatment plant.  The electrical failure caused 396,000 gallons of wastewater and 500,000 gallons of storm water to discharge into the Wicomico River.  The most recent overflow was on January 23, 2002 when 45,000 gallons of sewage spilled into the river, after a pump failed at the city’s south side substation.  Both large pumps were out of service at the same time, but city personnel managed to repair one pump and had it running within 90 minutes.  These violations and overflows caused a great deal of concern within the community, from college professors to local fisherman. 

However, the community is not always informed about overflows.  “Mary Philipps-Dickerson reported that the city meets with the Health Department and together they decide when it is necessary to have public notice of the overflows.” [26]   Small overflows that are not reported to the public are “very small, approximately 25 gallons and others are sizable.  Usually 10,000 gallons or less is considered small.” [27]   Though the public is not notified of what is termed “small” sewage overflows, all spills must be reported to the MDE and large spills of 10,000 gallons and over must be reported to the public. 

 

Concerned Groups and Citizens

            When the public is aware of major problems within their local communities, citizens often come together to form a common organization to affect change.  One such group is SOS, an environmental group that formed after the August 10, 2001 overflow.  Members of SOS are a group of Wicomico County residents who were alarmed by the series of sewage overflows and wanted to push Salisbury officials to clean up the river and prevent further spills.  SOS’s main concern is that the “city has poorly tracked sewage overflow into the river, saying a broken monitoring device went undetected for several months.” [28]   SOS members want city officials to include money in this year’s budget for the downtown storm drainage project and improvements to treatment plant monitoring of sewage.  Other groups that are concerned about the health  (or in this case, the unhealthiness) of the Wicomico River include the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

Dave Winslow Explaining New Upgrades to Concerned Citizens

Photo Courtesy of Caitlin Harris

 

            While the health of the Wicomico River is degrading, imagine the implications a polluted river has that feeds directly into the ecologically sensitive Chesapeake Bay.  The Chesapeake Bay Foundation has made their voice heard in issues that involve the Wicomico River and therefore also the Chesapeake Bay. The Chesapeake Bay suffers from excessive amounts of nutrients.  To help solve this problem, Maryland and other bay states have committed to a 2010 goal of reducing the amount of nitrogen going into the bay by 50%.  Wastewater Treatment Plants in Maryland are the second leading contributor of nitrogen to the bay.  Recent data from the EPA’s Chesapeake Bay Program find that of the “66 WWTPs in Maryland discharging more than a half-million gallons of wastewater each day, the Salisbury WWTP is the second worst facility in terms of nitrogen concentration, adding 332,000 pounds of harmful nitrogen to the Wicomico River each year.” [29]   Theresa Pierno (Maryland’s executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation) writes in a letter to the editor, “The amount of nitrogen discharged from the Salisbury WWTP can no longer be over looked or ignored.  The city needs to upgrade the WWTP and reduce the amount of nitrogen coming from the plant…. Improvements to Salisbury’s WWTP will undoubtedly result in substantial benefits to the Wicomico River and the bay.” [30]

Not only are groups such as SOS and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation concerned, but everyone in the community is affected as well.  Resident Pierre Genvert says, “I’m a simple man.  I just want to see the city do what it can to keep the rivers open.” [31]   Salisbury attorney and Whitehaven resident Tom Lilly speaks from direct experience with the river, “If you would get out on the river, you would see that it is absolutely loaded with algae.” [32]   The reality is that the Wicomico River affects each citizen.  Whether it is for aesthetic pleasure, recreation, industry, or purely utilitarian motivations, closing the city’s main river is an act that no citizen should take lightly. 

 

A Global Perspective

            Wastewater treatment centers put an end to companies dumping massive amounts of sewage into lakes, oceans, and rivers.  The government also began to make standards (such as limiting the chlorine content and the pH of the effluent), which everyone had to meet.  Government agencies are involved with the problems surrounding wastewater treatment on a national, state, and local level.  Agencies such as the Water Environment Federation and E.P.A. are currently working on strategies to help solve the wastewater treatment problems of increasing wastewater volume, stormwater mandates, level of water treatment, and high operating costs.  The E.P.A.’s ideal for the future of wastewater plants is to encourage local, regional, and state planning for smart growth.  By encouraging communities to think of the environmental impacts of their decisions and supporting innovative technology, the future of Wastewater Treatment Plants around the country will become increasingly environmentally friendly.

However, E.P.A. spokeswoman, Angela Anderson states that there is a, “Historical under-recognition of the cost to replace aging and failing wastewater pipes.” [33]   Wastewater is an expensive municipality.  Combined sewer upgrades are the biggest public works for the country costing in excess of $150 billion to separate. [34]   The cost of proper wastewater technology is high, but without continued improvement and money spent on upgrades, the cost to the environment is higher.

 

The Problems Surrounding the Salisbury Wastewater Treatment Plant

            No one wants sewage overflows, river closings, and fines so why does it happen?  The City of Salisbury would like a modern WWTP just as much as concerned citizens and environmentalists would.  Again, why has the Salisbury WWTP fallen into such a bad state?  Time and money.  When problems arose in the past, such as the separation of combined sewer systems, businesses violating their WWTP flow permits, and a failure to account for a high level of development in the surrounding community; the City of Salisbury did not address them as well as they could have.  Instead of taking a proactive stance and preventing disasters, Salisbury simply fixed the issue at hand.  That reasoning is adequate until problems build upon each other to create a colossally disastrous situation, and that is where we are today.  The short-term solutions that the city of Salisbury implemented to “fix” problems at the WWTP cannot possibly solve long-term issues.  “Time is an issue.  If work does not begin in the next year, the plant may not be able to handle the more than 6.8 million gallons of wastewater produced daily by area businesses and homes, city officials say.” [35]   The race against the clock started years ago and the City of Salisbury is far behind.

Money and tougher environmental standards are the other issues that play a large part in the WWTP problems the City of Salisbury is facing.  WWTP operator Dave Winslow feels as if the City of Salisbury is in a tough position.  “Limits are coming from the EPA and MDE, but the government must come up with the money.  The money has to be there to do it, it just doesn’t happen.” [36] In the past ten years state regulations have gotten tougher.  Treatment plants must now screen out phosphorus, nitrogen, and other pollutants at significantly lower levels. To get cleaner water, cities must install new filters, add chemical treatments, and sometimes rework their systems.  “Though Maryland often pays half the costs of improvements, on the Lower Shore, the town’s share is often more than it can afford.  And without money to improve, cities, are often fined for violations, making the problem worse.” [37]

 

A City Problem?

A drive through the City of Salisbury or even a canoe down the Wicomico River tells the tale of many cities in the twenty-first century.  Cities used to be prime locations for houses, offices, stores, and buildings.  Now many cities are apparent ghost towns or sites of low-income housing.  Bad zoning plans and the urban services agreement has resulted in development outside of the city limits; therefore the tax base within the city has weakened. Many people have moved out to the suburbs to live on a comfortable plot of land away from all of the cities’ problems. 

The majority of the people leaving the cities include wealthy and primarily white citizens.  They leave behind them a town with a higher percentage of poor, minorities, and working class people who struggle to make ends meet.  The affluent citizens leave the city citizens with the burden of high taxes, paying for large municipal expenses including the Wastewater Treatment Plant.  An article from the Daily Times addresses the problem that the city and county are discussing allowing people who live outside of the city limits to have access to city water and sewer service. [38]   The article questions this reasoning by asking, “If the existing facilities are not up to the job, how can the city even discuss expanding its area of service?” [39]    Many of the county residents have septic tanks and their houses do not directly contribute to the city’s WWTP, the services such as schools, shopping centers, and businesses that they use within the city all are major contributors to the Wastewater Treatment Plant.  

With homes on the Wicomico River, many county citizens feel strongly about problems surrounding the antiquated wastewater system.  The county citizens should and do have a voice in the river that they live on.  Yet the movement for a cleaner river stems primarily from county residents who have the luxury of money, a good education, and will not pay for city taxes required to build a new Wastewater Treatment Plant.  The load on the sewer plant still daunghtingly nears capacity, with many of the poorest residents left to pay the high price of a cleaner river. 

 

Political Assistance

State lawmakers are working on legislation to help cities with WWTP upgrades.  In February of 2002 delegates introduced a bill requiring the state to give $10 million a year for municipal sewer projects. The bill benefits smaller towns that cannot afford costly improvements to their aging sewer systems. Lawmakers designed the bill to make sure the state funds all towns equally. Cities can receive up to $1.5 million a year from the fund, and only two cities in each county can receive money each year. The bill also calls for state officials to give priority to towns that desperately need improvements and don’t have the money.

Senator Barbara Mikulski has been instrumental in working to get money for wastewater treatment plants and met with Wicomico County council members on July 5, 2001.  Sen. Milulski said that there are more requests for water and sewer funding than anything else.  Mikulski also said that there is $400 million available in grant money for infrastructure and instructed council members to apply.  When referring to wastewater treatment Mikulski summarized the problem for Wastewater Treatment Plants everywhere, “We are in a national crisis.  This is really a public health issue.” [40]

  City officials are planning a $44 million upgrade to the treatment plant to improve filtering systems and expand the capacity of the plant to meet future growth.  The project costs more than the annual city budget and while grants and bond sales will cover portions of the cost, officials say city taxes will have to be increased. [41]   County Council President L. Russell Molnar stated, “There is going to be a lot of money spent on water and sewer.” [42]

 

The Future of Wastewater Treatment in Salisbury

Mayor Tilghman said to residents concerned about the health of the Wicomico River that the controversy surrounding the Wastewater Treatment Plant is, “a complex issue with no easy solutions.” [43]   The issue is not whether we want a cleaner river, but how we will get a cleaner river.  A lack of money and time are what all concerned citizens should be fighting against.  The answer to the environmental troubles of the Wicomico River lies in urgent action and dedicated environmentalists, WWTP operators, city officials, and citizens of Salisbury. 

If local governments enact proper planning, smart growth, and a genuine concern for the river some problems will be solved.  If state governments hear the pleas of poorly funded local governments some problems will be solved.  If the federal government continues to create fair regulations, supports innovative and effective technology, and financially contributes to state projects some problems will be solved. The local, state, and federal government, working together will create a positive change for wastewater treatment plants around the country. 

The imminent and massive problem of Wastewater Treatment must be solved before any more growth and development take place.  Wicomico County doesn’t have a main WWTP and the City of Salisbury’s plant is closely nearing its maximum discharge.  The future of the Wicomico River is at stake. 

 

 

Scene of the Wicomico River

Photo Courtesy of Caitlin Harris

 

My paddle nears an end.  My journey of the Wicomico River reaches its conclusion at the city dock across from Chesapeake Ship Building and just down from the Wastewater Treatment Plant.  When I first started my adventure I joked to my fellow canoeist that, “come hell or high water” I was not going to fall in this river.  However, thoughts of sewage overflows and pollution quickly escaped my mind when I saw the plentiful and beautiful wildlife that the river was a home to.  Seagulls, blue herons, mallards, snakes, and turtles resided on the river.  A rusty boat, wooden bulkheads, and tall grasses all added a sense of character to the river we call Wicomico. Wildlife, as well as people depend on this river and it would be heart breaking to see it overtaken with pollution.  My canoe down the Wicomico was a charming journey through a river full of character, beautiful landscapes, and diverse wildlife.  However pleasant and lovely my canoe ride was, I made sure that I did not fall in.