Dorchester, Talbot and Caroline Counties
STUDY COMPLETED: 2005
This project, covering part of Maryland’s Eastern Shore, evaluated alternatives to regionalized sewers in Dorchester, Talbot and Caroline Counties. Public sewer service is available in the larger cities of Cambridge and Easton, and in 3 to 5 smaller towns in each County.
The following regional wastewater system alternatives were developed: Extending service from the existing public wastewater systems in each County; expanding, upgrading or replacing facilities to accommodate extensions and growth; building new treatment plants to serve regionalized collection systems; abandoning existing plants, with a neighboring facility providing treatment; providing small community public wastewater facilities in isolated developments where connection to regional facilities is not fiscally feasible.
The feasibility study proposed 51 pump stations and 173 miles of force mains to convey flow from existing towns to regional WWTP’s, eliminating some local WWTP’s and enlarging others. The total estimated cost of the regionalization projects exceeds $90,000,000 to serve a community of approximately 140,000.
Costs were estimated for regionalization projects including treatment plants, major interceptors, pump stations and force mains. Regionalization was separated into Short Term, Long Term, and Very Long Term Improvements. Short-term work included extending collection and conveyance systems to nearby unsewered communities. Long Term improvements consisted of eliminating smaller and/or obsolete wastewater treatment plants and either connecting these communities to existing nearby treatment plants, or constructing regional treatment plants. Very long-term options would consolidate treatment to only four plants serving the three counties.