Maryland to Improve Three Wastewater Systems to Reduce Pollution to Bay and Local Rivers
October 2009 -- Maryland will use $39.5 million in grants to help improve the health of local waterways that flow to the Chesapeake Bay by upgrading wastewater facilities and repairing a sewage system in three Bay watershed locations.
The funding for these projects is from Maryland’s Bay Restoration Fund, also known as the “Flush Fee,” which is used for wastewater and septic system improvement projects throughout the state. These projects limit the amount of nutrients – the Bay’s biggest pollutant – that enter local streams, creeks and rivers.
A $31 million grant, along with $6 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding, will fund the planning, design and construction of enhanced nutrient removal (ENR) technology at the Ballenger-McKinney Wastewater Treatment Plant in Frederick County. Another $8 million grant will fund the planning and design of ENR technology at the Cox Creek Water Reclamation Facility in Anne Arundel County. After the upgrades, each of these facilities will reduce its nitrogen discharge by at least 62 percent and phosphorus discharge by 85 percent.
The remaining $500,000 will be used to repair and replace portions of the Fruitland wastewater collection system in Wicomico County. The improvements will protect both public health and the health of the Bay by preventing sewer overflows.
“These projects are critical to helping Maryland meet our two-year Chesapeake Bay cleanup milestones, which more than double our nutrient reduction goals by 2020,” said Maryland Gov. O’Malley in a statement.
Learn more about upgrading wastewater treatment facilities to reduce pollution to the Bay.