Sewer Design

Sewer Design is responsible for the design and the review of improvement projects for the Baltimore County metropolitan wastewater system. This section also:

  • Manages the Master Sewer Plan and designations
  • Evaluates and assesses the system to ensure that capacity exists to handle discharges that protects the health and safety of the public
  • Designs and reviews pumping stations and major interceptors that carry wastewater to the two major treatment plants
  • Manages availability of capital funds for the rehabilitation, repair and replacement of sewer lines and the upgrade of pumping stations
  • Responsible for the design of sewer system improvements established in the Consent Decree

SEPTIC SYSTEMS

The Ground Water Management (GWM) Section is responsible for managing and protecting the ground water resources of Baltimore County. GWM handles issues related to drinking water wells, on-site sewage disposal (septic) systems, removal of residential underground storage tanks, and disposal of solid and hazardous wastes.    

Permission to conduct percolation testing, or install a private well or onsite sewage disposal system (OSDS) for properties designated as W-1, S-1, W-3, S-3, W-4, S-4 may not be granted unless a variance to the Master Water and Sewer Plan has been approved by the Department of Public Works and Transportation (DPWT). All requests must include a completed application and site plan or development plan showing the entire property, and site plan or development plan showing the entire property. All variance requests must be submitted to DPWT, Engineering and Construction Administration at enginrng@baltimorecountymd.gov.

GRINDER PUMPS AND LOW-PRESSURE SEWER SYSTEMS

Requests for the use of a grinder pump or low pressure system must be submitted with justification to the Department of Public Works and Transportation (DPWT) for approval. To receive the approval of DPWT for the installation of a grinder pump or low pressure sewer system, the area to be served must have environmental, topographic or subsurface conditions which make it very difficult for potential users to be served by a gravity collection system or such conditions make it very difficult or impractical to construct and maintain a gravity system. Requests for grinder pump or low pressure sewer systems will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and must be approved by the Director.

County owned and maintained grinder pumps will revert back to the property owner in the case of property development or if the property owner wishes to relocate the Baltimore County grinder pump.  

CONNECTING TO EXISTING SEWER

Individuals wishing to connect to existing public sewer who are within an S-1 designated area of the master sewer plan should contact Permits, Approvals and Inspections on how to connect. 

EXTENDING PUBLIC SEWER VIA A HEALTH PROJECT

Unlike other utilities such as power and cable, sewer extensions are generally not economically feasible unless the cost is shared by all of the property owners. Therefore, if EPS recommends that public sewer be extended for health reasons and the Department of Public Works and Transportation (DPWT) agrees to do so, all homeowners that have access (property frontage) to the new sewer line—even if their septic system is not failing at that time—are required to connect to the system when it becomes available. The legal authority for the County to extend public sewer for the protection of public health is specified in the Baltimore County Code 20-2-102.

PROJECT TIMELINE

Generally speaking, it will take one to three years for the project to be completed. This could be longer based on the scope of the project, and the complexity of the environmental constraints and property acquisitions. Time to project completion is dependent on a variety of factors including the:

  • Availability of funds to pay for and finance the project
  • Cooperation of property owners with obtaining rights-of-way
  • Number of other competing sewer extension and improvement projects

It is the homeowner’s responsibility to continue to maintain a septic system in such a manner that it does not cause an immediate public health threat or nuisance throughout the duration of the project. This may involve having the septic system pumped at a frequency necessary to prevent the overflow of sewage to the ground surface.

ABOUT THE PROCESS

The Sewer Design Section  is responsible for the design of the project and coordinates:

  • Field Surveys—Establish the topography, property lines and location of existing utilities, structures, roads and property lines necessary for the design
  • Engineering Design—The project will be designed in the most cost effective way, taking into consideration the depth and location of waste lines leaving each house/existing public sewer
  • Environmental Permitting—Environmental permits may be needed from the County and possibly State and Federal regulatory agencies
  • Land Acquisition—The design may require property rights (easements) from private properties. The design plans are be sent to Real Estate Compliance to ensure that the County obtains the necessary legal rights-of-way to construct the sewer. The time it takes for this step for this process is largely dependent on the level of cooperation received from individual property owners.

Based on the lowest bid, the cost allocation for each property owner will be determined by Metropolitan District Financing and Petitions. The formulas used to calculate these costs are in accordance with Baltimore County Code 20-3-101 through 220 and DPWT policy. Each property owner will be sent information in the mail detailing the costs for their property along with the date, time and location of a public meeting where they can come to have specific questions addressed.

It should be noted that because sewer is being extended as a “Health Project” the County offers residential properties 40-year financing for the construction, connection and deficit costs, including the plumber’s bill. These loans are treated as assumable liens on the property and the liens are not required to be paid off at property transfer. There is an option to defer payments for property owners that are 60 years or older and approved for a Homeowner’s Tax Credit based on income. Disabled taxpayers may also qualify.

Specific details about how costs are calculated and the financial options available are explained at the public meeting. Subsequent to the public meeting, DPWT will send a request to the County Council to approve the use of County funds to construct the project.

Following County Council approval, the lowest bid contractor will be awarded the job and the work will be scheduled. County inspectors will be onsite during the construction to ensure that the sewer is installed as designed and coordinate with the contractor to address any property owner concerns.

Upon completion of the sewer project, all property owners will be sent a notification that they must connect to the public system and abandon their existing septic systems within one year, unless ordered by EPS to do so sooner.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Learn who to contact regarding the following:

TopicContact Information
  • Questions about your septic system
  • Recommendations to extend public sewer
  • Grant qualification

 

Phone: 410-887-2762
Deferral InformationPhone: 410-887-4100
Developer JobsPhone: 410-887-3751
  • Project Financing
  • Sewer Availability
  • Public Sewer Petitions
Phone: 410-887-2423
Failing Systems
Financial AssistancePhone: 410-887-3124
Land Acquisition StatusPhone: 410-887-3280
Sewer Backups/Cleaning/Repairs
Sewer Project StatusPhone: 410-887-3762

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Learn more about the following topics.

Baltimore County is performing a comprehensive evaluation of the Jones Falls Sewershed. The study began in 2020 and includes assessments of the condition of the system assets and an evaluation of the sewer capacity over an extended planning horizon. The entire study is expected to take 3.5 years to complete. Newsletters detailing the progress of this study are found here.

If your sewer is blocked, stop using any water in the house, such as sinks, showers, washing machines and dishwashers. If water cannot get through your house connection lateral line to the main sewer line in the street, it will back up into your house. 

To prevent this, keep fats, oils and grease (FOG) out of the sewer system. Grease coats the inside of the sewer lines in your home and clogs the pipes in your line and the sewer line in the street.

The Sanitary Sewer System Consent Decree was brought forth by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) against Baltimore County to force upgrades to the aging sewer infrastructure. This was necessary for compliance with the Clean Water Act and the Maryland water pollution control laws with the goal of eliminating sanitary sewer overflows.

After three years of negotiations, it has an effective "Date of Entry" of September 20, 2005. The Consent Decree outlines the agreed upon work (capital, equipment and operations improvements over multiple years) with deadlines necessary.

REPORTS

Following are recent reports required under the provision of the Consent Decree.

Calendar 2024

Calendar 2023

CALENDAR 2022

CALENDAR 2021

CALENDAR 2020

CALENDAR 2019

CALENDAR 2018