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| Department of Public Works |
| 212 South Bond Street, Bel Air, MD 21014 |
410.638.3285 / 410.879.2000 |
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News From Harford County Water and Sewer
IMPORTANT NUMBERS:
| BILLING QUESTIONS |
410-638-3311 |
| ADMINISTRATION/NEW SERVICE |
410-638-3300 |
METER & WATER PRESSURE
PROBLEMS; SEWER BACK-UPS |
410-612-1612 |
| WATER QUALITY |
410-638-3939 |
| TREATMENT-WASTEWATER |
410-273-5617 |
EMERGENCY 24-HOUR NUMBER:
410-612-1612
SOMETHING
NEW |
| Harford County is changing the way
it treats its wastewater. A new treatment process was put online last October at the
Sod Run Wastewater Treatment Plant. |
This
new process is called "Biological Nutrient Removal" or BNR. We have
devoted this letter exclusively to informing you of this new BNR process and how it
protects the Chesapeake Bay. |
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THE
PLANT |
| The Sod Run Wastewater
Treatment Plant is located on Sod Run where it enters Bush River south of Perryman.
The original plant was constructed in the late 1960s and expanded over time from a 4
million gallon a day (4 MGD) plant to a 12 MGD plant. Currently under construction
is an upgrade program to increase the capacity of the plant from 12 MGD to 20 MGD.
Part of this upgrade effort is the addition of a BNR or "Biological Nutrient
Removal" process which became operational in October |
1997.
This process reduces the discharge of nitrogen and phosphorus to the Chesapeake Bay.
The process works by using microorganisms rather than chemicals to remove nitrogen and
phosphorus from wastewater. A biological process was selected because it would be
safe for the environment. For those who like more information on this highly
scientific method, please call the Sod Run Plant Manager at 410-273-5617. |
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HELPING
THE BAY |
| The Chesapeake Bay
Agreement, signed by the governors of Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and the Mayor of
Washington D.C. in 1987, calls for reducing the amount of nutrients entering the BAY by
40% from previous levels. Reducing nutrients helps control algae populations, which
in excess can |
upset
the Bay's ecosystem. Nutrients come from all sources including fertilizers,
industry, residential areas, and you. Your wastewater produces about 13 pounds of
nutrients per person per year. Over 500 tons of nutrients are generated from all the
households on the Sewer system. |
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YOUR
SHARE |
| The cost to construct
this new BNR process is $16.4 million dollars. Harford County was able to recover
50% of this cost from a grant program through the Maryland Department of the Environment's
Water Management Administration. The remaining $8.2 million dollars will be shared
by the users of the Harford County Sewer System. Starting with January 1998 bills,
each sewerage customer will be charged a BNR fee of $.21 per 1,000 gallons of sewer
discharge. An average residential |
customer
will see a $3.36 increase in their quarterly sewer bill. Each year the fee will be
recalculated due to increased customers to share in the cost. This will result in a
lowering of the fee over time until the total cost of construction is repaid. The
fee will eventually be removed from your Water and Sewer bill around the year 2020 when
debt for this project is scheduled to be paid off. If you have additional billing
questions, please call 410-638-3311 |
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