This past Friday, May 6, the Baltimore City Department of Public Works reported that a sanitary sewer had overflowed into the Jones Falls. The overflow stopped around 5:00 p.m. that same day. On Monday, May 9, the total release was estimated to be 46,000 gallons.

This incident occurred underground, from a “structured” overflow system in East Baltimore, and did not spill onto any streets. Such structured overflows were designed as part of Baltimore’s sewer system over 100 years ago, but are being eliminated as part of the City’s $1 billion Consent Decree sewer rehabilitation. Structured overflows release the excess wastewater, which mostly consists of rainwater that enters the sewer mains during heavy downpours.

No other significant overflows were reported as a result of the recent rains.

The Baltimore City Health Department and the Maryland Department of the Environment were notified of this event.

Typically, but especially during times of heavy, prolonged rain, the public is urged not to come into contact with urban streams because of the possibility that pollutants have been washed into them. Permanent signs to this effect are posted along our urban streams.