What’s coming out of dogs, cats, deer and other wildlife, not the sewage pumping stations, is polluting Anne Arundel’s creeks, said the county public works director.
“A majority of the nitrogen load [which harms the aquatic habitat] comes from, of all things, pet waste,” said Director Ron Bowen to the county’s House delegation Friday in defense of the quality of the county’s pumping stations.
“Even if we as a government did everything possible to stop pollution on our end, we still exceed pollution levels because of what is running off the land.”
Bowen said most of the excess nitrogen comes from runoff of impervious surfaces and septic systems, which produce a combined 18,000 pounds of nitrogen annually compared with the 1,300 pounds of nitrogen sewage spills in the past four years.
DNA testing of the bacteria and waste in the water show the major source is animal waste, Bowen said.
Bacterial studies in the Magothy River watershed show that 65 percent of bacteria comes from pets, while only 2 percent comes from humans.
But Del. Don Dwyer, R-Anne Arundel, who initiated the debate this past week when he and others from Pasadena presented data they say shows an alarming amount of sewage dumped by county pumping stations, found Bowen’s assertions hard to believe.
“If you tell people that, they will laugh at you,” Dwyer said.
The issue comes as Anne Arundel looks to handle septic and environmental issues. Some officials want to require nitrogen-reducing technology for all replacement septic tanks to help the environment, but homeowners said they feel their rights are being removed and question the causes of pollution.
“It is the reflection of people living along the waterways, who maybe as a child were able to swim the creeks but now can’t,” said Del. Steve Schuh, R-Anne Arundel.
Jay Sakai, director of water management for the Maryland Department of the Environment, said pollution levels are so high that swimming in some of Anne Arundel’s creeks will not happen in the foreseeable future.
Del. Nic Kipke, R-Anne Arundel, who called for the hearing, said he was relieved to hear that Anne Arundel has $8 million lined up to improve an aging pumping station, and that the county’s wastewater system has a high performance record.
“This helps put attention on septic systems and pumping stations, which aren’t a major contributor to pollution, but an area we can do our best to contain,” he said.
