The Baltimore City Department of Public Works estimates that over 200,000 gallons of rainwater, mixed with sewer water, overflowed last night and early this morning at West Saratoga Street and Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard. The site of this release is where bypass operations are occurring, related to the July 4 sewer collapse on nearby Mulberry Street. That sewer, which is almost seven feet in diameter, remains closed, necessitating bypassing it with temporary lines. The overflow entered the storm drains which lead to the harbor.

Because of the history of failures on this aged sewer main, and while Mulberry Street is open, extensive lining will be done to rehabilitate 3,000 linear feet of sewer from Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard to Park Avenue.

Several structured overflows also activated overnight as a result of the downpour entering and overwhelming the sewer system. Structured outfalls were designed into the system more than 100 years ago to provide such releases when the sewers became inundated with rainwater. Final volumes of these overflows into the Jones Falls are pending. 

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

The public is reminded to avoid contact with urban waterways due to the risk of pollution. For more information about health concerns as a result of sewer overflows please go to http://health.baltimorecity.gov/sanitary-sewer-overflows-sso.