On the morning of January 27, on the heels of a heavy snowfall, neighbors on Elm Avenue woke up to a shared sewage nightmare – their basements were flooded with fecal matter that surged up through toilets, tubs and drains.

In early February, as the snow and ice was finally melting, their neighbors around the corner on Union Avenue had the same unsavory experience, with sewage flooding their basements.

“It’s been very debilitating,” said Pamela Potter-Hennesey, who has lived on Elm since 1978 and estimates she has $12,000 in damage and losses from this latest overflow.

“We were hit with this early in the morning, and then it lasted a day and a half,” she said, standing outside their homes yesterday with four of her neighbors and attorney Thiru Vignarajah. “We had to pump hundreds of gallons of raw sewage out of our basement and deal with the destruction.”

Another resident suffered an estimated $40,000 in damages. One neighbor had a 12-inch-deep lake of sewage on their property. Photos showed tubs and toilets filled to the brim with sludgy black excrement.

It wasn’t the first time this part of Hampden had experienced one of these nauseating sewage tsunamis, but it was kind of a last straw, Vignarajah said.

“Enough is enough,” said Vignarajah, explaining that the eight sets of homeowners he represents have so far documented $120,000 in damages which they are demanding the city pay.

“These families and these homes need to be repaired and reimbursed for the damage done because of the city’s broken infrastructure”  – Thiru Vignarajah.

The residents sought his help when they realized that the maximum payout under the city’s Expedited Sewage Backup Reimbursement Program is $5,000 – and its highly restrictive rules make it almost unheard of to qualify for even that amount.

Under the program, only those who have had a “capacity-related backup” within 24 hours of “a wet-weather event” qualify for reimbursement – meaning the Union Avenue residents, whose backups occurred days after the snowstorm, would not be eligible.

“Baltimore City has a bizarre, inexplicable rule that those reimbursements for which you can apply and get rapid recovery are only available if your sewage backup happens within 24 hours of rainfall or snowfall,” Vignarajah said, noting that approximately 75% of Baltimore’s yearly sewage backups occur during dry weather.

“But we’ve submitted requests, and we believe they are entitled to that reimbursement, as well,” he asserted.

“These families and these homes need to be repaired and reimbursed for the damage that has been done because of the city’s broken infrastructure.”

City Defies EPA Order

The Hampden homeowners may have high-profile representation (Vignarajah is a former Maryland deputy attorney general and past candidate for mayor and state’s attorney), but they face long odds.

They are encountering an issue that has stymied residents city-wide for years and drawn persistent criticism from environmental and consumer advocates – a municipal reimbursement program essentially designed to pay just a handful of residents each year.

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. Some years no reimbursements are approved.

• City Council calls on DPW to reimburse households with sewage backups (1/13/25)

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.

Baltimore’s sewage reimbursement program appears designed to pay only a handful of residents each year.

The Brandon Scott administration has fought the state and federal agencies’ order to relax the rules to include “dry-weather” backups. Almost three years after the order, DPW still has not complied.

“This radio silence from them is really concerning,” said Jennifer Kunze, the Maryland, organizing director with Clean Water Action, speaking yesterday with The Brew. “They could have long ago followed that order and just done the right thing and expanded the program so people aren’t left to clean the city’s messes up by themselves.”

Vignarajah said his clients are joining the call for DPW to expand the program.

Is The Rotunda a Factor?

The Hampden residents yesterday were fuming not just over the reimbursement program, but because of the city’s failure for years to comply with the 2002 consent decree and fix aging infrastructure so that sewage releases and back-ups would finally end.

After two blown deadlines, the city now promises completion in 2046.

• Another 16-year delay to end sewage overflows in Baltimore? Advocacy group says enough is enough (1/15/26)

“They’re here because they want to draw attention to a systemic city-wide problem that has been resulting in sewage water ending up in resident basements for decades,” he said. “The city has to come out and take some responsibility for it. They can’t just pass the buck to, not the next mayor, but to the next generation”

Another concern raised was over the impact of the The Rotunda, whose overhaul a decade ago greatly expanded the mixed-use development with new office and retail space and the 379-unit Icon apartments.

The Hampden residents, whose homes sit just below the complex, say the recent gush of sewage in their homes included what appeared to be non-residential waste – brown paper towels and other unusual material.

Potter-Hennesey recalled the discussions years ago when the Rotunda developers were seeking permission to add apartments.

“We were told that the building . . . was going to be about three stories in height,” she recalled. “Then, of course, we woke up one day, and there’s this monster towering over us.”

Complaining that residents have been “forced to absorb the consequences of that structure and the other structures in that project and live with it,” she said she wonders “what in the world is going to happen? What is the city going to do about fixing the problem?”

City Responds

Asked about concerns that the Rotunda is overwhelming old infrastructure designed for rowhouse streets, city officials did not respond. MCB Real Estate, which purchased the complex in 2022, did not reply to a request for comment.

But a DPW spokeswoman did provide this general response:

“The Department of Public Works understands the concerns raised by residents and takes reports of basement backups seriously. The city maintains reimbursement programs for certain wet-weather sanitary sewer overflows; however, eligibility is governed by specific criteria.

“Claims that fall outside existing program parameters, including basement backups produced by dry-weather events, may be submitted to the city Law Department for review through the standard claims process, and each claim will be evaluated on its individual merits.

“The city takes reports of sewage backups seriously”  – DPW spokesman.

“Since 2002, the City of Baltimore has invested nearly $2 billion in wastewater system improvements to reduce sanitary sewer overflows. Wet-weather SSO volumes have been reduced by approximately 84% compared to 2002 levels and are projected to be reduced by 94% by 2030.

“The city has also enhanced its operations and maintenance plan for the collection system to improve its ability to proactively prevent sewer backups that occur when pipes become choked with debris, tree roots or other materials. The city continues to strive to replace and correct issues with its aging infrastructure, while keeping in mind the financial constraints of its ratepayers.”