A shared septic system between Glenelg High School and 30 nearby houses is not expected to contaminate well water in western Howard County as some residents feared, the county?s public works director said.
“If the system is designed and operated properly, there should be very little likelihood of ground water contamination,” said James Irvin, director of the Howard County Department of Public Works.
Howard approved the joint septic system at a time when state law permitted septic systems to serve clustered development, Irvin said. Now the state requires a septic system per lot.
In addition, the planned septic system will have an advanced level of water treatment that can process contaminants more efficiently, he said.
Nearly two years ago, about 100 residents joined in the opposition to the septic system, which was proposed in 2000. Western Howard County is served by septic systems and well water.
They protested the school system?s plan to build a shared septic system with developer J. Thomas Scrivener because of concerns that one septic system would not be enough to treat the water, said Allen Dyer, an attorney for the residents and former School Board candidate.
The case was taken before the Maryland Office of Administrative Hearings. A Maryland Department of the Environment witness supported a shared septic system at a hearing about eight months ago. The judge sided with the school district, Dyer said.
The MDE has not yet given the septic system the green light because it is waiting for some final information from Howard, MDE spokesman Robert Ballinger said.
Maryland Environmental Services will operate the planned system and collect fees from the homeowners for the school system. The septic system will sit on 22 acres purchased from Scrivener.
