SNOW HILL – The public will have the opportunity to comment on Worcester County’s proposed standard sewer flow calculations at a hearing next month.
The Worcester County Commissioners agreed this week to set a public hearing date of Aug. 6 for the newly proposed standard sewer flow calculations. Though they initially had concerns with the proposed calculations, those concerns were addressed during a recent meeting of the county’s sewer committee.
“This took three hours that day to go through this,” Commissioner Joe Mitrecic said. “I think we hit everything to everybody’s expectation.”
According to staff, the proposed resolution establishing standard flow calculations will streamline the sewer allocation process and eliminate any subjectivity in allocation decisions. When Assistant Chief Administrative Officer Kelly Shannahan presented the commissioners with the draft earlier this month, however, several commissioners expressed concern with the resolution. As a result, Mitrecic and Commissioners Jim Bunting and Bud Church met with the sewer committee to do an in-depth review of the resolution.
“The sewer committee did meet with Commissioners Bunting, Church and Mitrecic on July 9 to review and revise the draft resolution establishing the standard flow calculations for determining the required capacity to serve residential and non-residential land uses to be served by public sewer systems in Worcester County,” Shannahan said.
He said various changes were made to the proposed resolution during that work session. One of the key adjustments was elimination of the line that stated that each EDU (equivalent dwelling unit) generated a flow of 300 gallons per day.
“We’ve replaced that with a reference that the rate shall be as determined by the county commissioners for each service area since not all service areas currently use 300 gallons per day per EDU,” Shannahan said.
The resolution also states that actual usage will be monitored for a period of 24 months. Shannahan said the document included language that ensures that the Worcester County Treasurer’s Office must confirm the purchase of required EDUs before a building permit is issued.
To view the entire proposed resolution, visit the county’s website, www.co.worcester.md.us. The commissioners will host a public hearing on the resolution Aug. 6.
