Harford County Maryland - Department of Public works

Harford County's water and sewer employees are proud to serve you with quality drinking water and environmentally friendly wastewater treatment solutions.

CLEAN DRINKING WATER

The Operations Section of Water and Sewer is responsible for compliance with the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). This means insuring optimum treatment, monitoring, research and employment of trained professionals. In 1996 over 3.1 BILLION gallons of water were provided to our customers and every drop of it met SDWA standards.

Daily monitoring includes minute by minute readings of three main quality measurements-chlorine (disinfectant) presence, clarity and pH. Daily operational requirements include

computer oriented monitoring of water that is screened, clarified, filtered, polished and disinfected. In later mailers we will answer commonly asked questions about drinking water such as bacteria monitoring, chemical content, and interesting standards that we are meeting.

If you have any questions about your water quality, feel free to call Talad Said at 410-638-3939 or Wayne Ludwig at 410-273-5619 or visit us at our Water Plant Open House and Expo that will be held in May.

PLEASE HAVE ALL LEAKS REPAIRED IMMEDIATELY.
WATER LEAKS ARE THE HOME OWNER'S RESPONSIBILITY.

PREVENTING LOSSES FROM SEWER BACKUPS

Harford County's water and sewer maintenance section maintains 620 miles of sewer lines in our system. You can help in our efforts to improve the efficiency of our programs. Each citizen should consider the following techniques to lessen the possible malfunction of the underground sewer system.

Homeowner responsibility for sewer line maintenance runs from the home to the connection at the main sewer line located in the street. Any restrictions found to be in the homeowner's line from the house to the main line will result in the homeowner being responsible for having the line cleaned and any damages that resulted from a back-up which flows into the home. If your own methods fall, call a plumber if you experience a slow moving drain/sewer, have trouble flushing or a backup occurs. If the plumber establishes that the problem is not in the homeowner's line, call the emergency maintenance number (410-612-1612) right away.
Whether you own or rent your home, property homeowner's or renter's insurance can help in the event of a sewer back-up both to pay for the cleanup and to pay for items damaged by the wet conditions. Many customers are surprised to learn that their insurance policy does not cover sewer back-ups and the coverage is not for replacement of the damaged property. If coverage has not been part of the policy, you may want to consider adding the protection of your personal property from this type of intrusion.
Do not allow grease, coffee grounds or rinds to enter the sewer lines. These discarded items tend to settle out and adhere to the inside of the pipe thus creating a clogging environment. A blockage caused by allowing the aforementioned items to be discarded into the sewer system may result in a back-up of sewage into your home.
Tree roots have an affinity to water and will seek moisture when surface conditions do not provide this nourishment. Please consider the location of the sewer lines when planting trees. If you have had a blockage or sewer back-up, you may want to think about removing any trees that have contributed to the problem. If you are unsure exactly where the sewer or water line runs underground, you may contact the Water & Sewer emergency number and a County representative will assist you in locating the system.
You may want to consider a back-flow valve as part of the home sewer piping system. A back-flow valve allows sewage and household water to flow only one way (out) as a flapper that restricts the flow of sewage back toward the home. A plumber can advise you as to the feasibility and cost of adding this product to the piping system that connects to the main sewer line. As of March 1, 1986, back-flow valves are required plumbing fixtures and must be maintained by the homeowner to assure proper working order.

News From Harford County Water and Sewer