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Septic Systems and the Climate Crisis
If your home is in a rural area in Maryland, your sinks, toilets, showers, dishwasher, and washing machine probably empty into a septic tank. How does a septic tank work? Watery waste, or effluent, is most of the waste, where anaerobic bacteria begin to break it down. The sludge, or inorganic solids which are the leftovers of bacteria digesting organic effluent, falls to the bottom of the tank. Scum which is mostly fats, grease, and oil floats to the top of the tank. A filter is present, which prevents most solids from going to the eventual draining, or leach field. The leach field releases
Basement sewage backups: a public hearing and next steps
Last month, we gathered at Baltimore City Hall with City Council members, community association presidents, faith leaders, insurance and health experts, and people from all across the city who have been impacted by the problem of sewage backing up into their home. This chronic problem impacts thousands of people each year - and as we have learned over the past year, the newest city program intended to help isn't working. Before the public hearing, people from across the city spoke out about their experiences at a rally outside of city hall: please watch and share our Facebook livestream!
The
Replacing a forest with a business park?
In Abingdon in Harford County, a developer has proposed to build a new "Abingdon Business Park:" three e-commerce/warehouse facilities, four restaurants, two flex retail spaces, one hotel, one convenience store and additional flex spaces, requiring the clear-cutting of 226 acres of a 330-acre forest. While sometimes development on forested lands is necessary, the developer has not proven that the negative externalities to the public are outweighed by the benefits, or that they considered putting their project on sites that would have less of an impact on water quality.
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Perspectives on Groundwater Sustainability: Susan Harvey with North County Watch
How did you get involved with sustainable groundwater management issues?
I have been a volunteer activist in the county for 20 years. As irrigated agriculture came in and started planting in the region it started to become obvious that we needed to pay attention to how much groundwater there was. In 2005, the County published a study they’d done of the groundwater aquifer and they published a second one in 2009 or 2010, and then a third one. As irrigated agriculture grew and we faced this drought, residents’ wells started to go dry. In the residential area within the Paso Robles basin (800
The Baltimore City Council investigates sewage floods
"Raw sewage is bad for human health - this is universal." -Chris Heaney, Associate Professor for Environmental Health and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University
On Wednesday November 13th , I attended a hearing that the Baltimore City Council's Land Use Committee held for Resolution 19-0159, an investigation into sewage backups into buildings and the city's Expedited Reimbursement Program, set up to assist residents with the costs associated with sewer backups. The backup of sewage into Baltimore homes is a big problem, and only increasing with factors such a climate change causing more