Shitty Weather Leads to Shitty Beaches

Beaches reopened after Chesapeake Beach sewage plan overflow

Several area beaches remained closed until Wednesday after the Town of Chesapeake Beach reported a solids loss into the Chesapeake Bay from its wastewater treatment plant last week.

In the midst of an improvement project that has proved a hurdle for the treatment plant by partially incapacitating it, the town experienced an overflow at the plant after heavy rains last Thursday night, June 12.

On Wednesday morning, North Beach, Windward Keys Beach, Chesapeake Station Beach, Bay Front Park/Brownies Beach and Breezy Point Beach were reopened Wednesday after a second round of health department testing revealed safe conditions for swimming and other water activities, Calvert County health officer Dr. Laurence Polsky said in an email Wednesday morning.

About 200,000 gallons of overflow were released into the bay, Jay Apperson, a spokesperson for the Maryland Department of the Environment, said Monday. The most recent previous spill, which occurred April 30 after heavy rainfall, added up to 2 million gallons, Apperson said at the time.

The cause of the June 12 spill, which lasted from 9:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., according to a press release, has been attributed to heavy rainfall during a period of three days coupled with the Enhanced Nutrient Removal construction currently underway.

The rains last Thursday were intense; we had more than three inches in about three hours here.  It hust about sank my boat, due to a bilge pump failure.