What Casey Morris experienced not once but four times in 2022 and 2023 was something she wishes on no one.

Loud, gurgling sounds erupting inside her upstairs pipes, which triggered her to instinctively race down to her basement only to find this: “I lifted up the toilet seat cover and the bowl was filled with, well, feces. It was nearly up to the brim.”

For years, community members and advocates, including the late civil rights activist Helena Hicks, Blue Water Baltimore and Clean Water Action have pressed City Hall to expand the scope of Baltimore’s sewage clean-up assistance programs to help victims of raw sewage flooding their basements.

In May 2023,  the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) stepped up the pressure, ordering the Department of Public Works (DPW) to expand the financial assistance program as part of the 2002 consent decree to end the discharge of raw sewage into the environment.

The Brandon Scott administration fought the order and today, 20 months later, DPW has not complied.

In its first session of 2025, the City Council tonight passed a resolution calling on DPW and Mayor Scott to end resistance to the EPA/MDE order and re-release a revised emergency response plan to include their recommendations.

By so doing, the city would agree to reimburse any residential backups caused at least in part by a condition in the city-owned portion of the sewage collection system.

The lead sponsor of the resolution, Councilman Paris Gray, said the effects of sewage overflows – the immediate spread of fecal material into homes and the long-term hazards of mold – represent “a public health crisis.”

“It is deeply unjust that this process has dragged out for so long and that thousands of Baltimore residents continue to suffer without assistance. DPW continues to have every opportunity to comply with EPA’s order, and they could do so today without any further delay,” he said.

The resolution was adopted by a unanimous vote.

PRIOR BREW COVERAGE:

• A Baltimore Sewage Saga: It started in the toilet, migrated to the refrigerator, then got worse (10/21/24)

• Sewage overflows and basement backups persist in Baltimore despite federal consent decree (1/18/24)

• Bill calls for study of expanding Baltimore’s sewage reimbursement program (6/20/21)

Few Ever Qualify

DPW has a $2 million budget for sewage backups, but pays out only a fraction of that amount because of rules requiring a backup to occur during a “capacity-related wet weather event.”

Most residential overflows are “dry weather” backups that can happen anytime, rain or shine, as a result of sewer main collapses, water main breaks and other factors.

By DPW’s own count, there were 4,648 sewage backups in 2023, and an almost equal amount in 2024. However, in fiscal 2024, only 39 residents applied to the city’s reimbursement program – and only 3 of those applicants were approved.

Placing the Blame Elsewhere

“In the year and a half that DPW has dragged these negotiations out, there have been over 1,800 sewer backups documented by DPW caused at least in part by city-owned infrastructure, that would have been eligible for emergency cleanup assistance if the order were in effect,” said Jennifer Kunze, Maryland organizing director with Clean Water Action.

The dearth of successful applications has led to a growing number of civil suits against the city, including by Morris, who carefully documented the four overflows and contaminated water she encountered at her Irvington house and eventually collected $69,080 in damages.

“Sewage backups are a public health hazard and can be a massive financial burden for residents who can least afford it,” says Leah Kelly, a senior attorney with the Environmental Integrity Project.

Dealing with a sewage overflow can easily cost a rowhouse owner $30,000 and often much more, adds attorney Jane Santoni, who represented Morris.

Santoni says DPW typically blames residents for throwing rags and dumping grease into sinks and toilets, but in a properly operating system, rags and grease wouldn’t be a problem.

DPW will hold a meeting, required by federal law to allow public feedback on the sewage consent decree, on January 30 at the Cylburn Arboretum Volmer Center, 4915 Greenspring Avenue. The meeting is scheduled to start at 6 p.m.