7/13/2005

Ocean Pines water and wastewater study completed
By Bob Lassahn

In an Executive Summary presented to the Worcester County Commissioners at the July 5 session, Public Facilities Project Manager E. Dennis Escher provided an overview of a regionalization study for the Ocean Pines Sanitary Service Area. The Ocean Pines study is the first of seven areas Mr. Escher has been tasked to evaluate.

According to Mr. Escher’s summary the Ocean Pines water and sewerage systems serve the immediate customer base (Ocean Pines proper) and a few nearby areas contiguous to the Ocean Pines community. He expresses the opinion that the water system can and should become part of a regional system. With regard to the sewerage system and wastewater treatment facility he states that it “meets the present committed EDU (equivalent dwelling unit) base of customers it is designed to serve,” and offers the suggestion it can be expanded to 3.0 mgd (million gallons per day) to serve an additional 2,800 EDUs. Mr. Escher speculates the 3.0 mgd is the limit of its treatment capacity unless the point of effluent discharge is changed.

Ocean Pines water system
Mr. Escher noted the existing Ocean Pines water system has some potentially serious deficiencies and offered possible solutions. The water output from the four existing Ocean Pines wells does not currently meet requirements for peak usage during summer months and he recommends increasing the supply with one additional Ocean Pines well or an interconnection with the Glen Riddle water system.

An additional well in the northern section of Ocean Pines (the source of high quality water) would not be approved by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) since they have capped the number of wells allowed into the aquifer and the water in the southern section of the community, drawn from a different aquifer contains high concentrations of iron, requiring treatment for removal. The additional well and associated treatment facility would cost about $1.7 million.

He recommends the more practical and economical solution of expanding the Glen Riddle treatment facility and interconnection of the two systems. This solution would provide the needed capacity while also providing redundancy and operational efficiency. He also notes future expansion of the Glen Riddle treatment facility would also support development along the planned Route 50 service road. The interconnection is estimated to cost about $850,000.

The report also outlined the need for an additional one million gallons of storage capacity in elevated tanks, improvements to about 42,000 feet of six and eight inch water lines, another 100 hydrants in the northern section and an additional water line to the area of the Sports Core.

The cost for the new Ocean Pines well and treatment facility, along with the storage tanks and water lines is estimated at about $5.9 million. The interconnection to Glen Riddle in lieu of the new well, plus the storage tanks and water lines is estimated at $5.1 million.

Ocean Pines sewerage system
Mr. Escher summarizes that presently the Ocean Pines Waste Water Treatment Plant (OPWWTP) is committed to provide capacity for 9,163 EDUs for platted lots in Ocean Pines and an additional 125 EDUs for two additional developments resulting in a flow of 2.322 mgd to plant. The plant expansion underway is deemed capable of handling the flow. The Greater Ocean Pines Service Area could require 9,974 EDUs at build-out and require a flow of 2.494 mgd, requiring some modifications to the plant.

Mr. Escher further summarizes how Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL), total Nitrogen and total Phosphorous all factor into the potential limit of effluent discharge to the St. Martin River, but concludes that for the purpose of his study the maximum flow of 3.0 mgd is considered the limit for further expansion of the OPWWTP with its present discharge point.

Mr. Escher went on to discuss potential customers within the Greater Ocean Pines Sanitary Service Area and recommended to the commissioners that they apply to MDE for a discharge permit at 3.0 mgd to confirm if a permit will be issued for another expansion of the OPWWTP.  He commented that this does not commit the county to proceed and that permit processing could take one year. Once issued the permit is good for five years.

As part of his report Mr. Escher discussed alternative to discharge of effluent by OPWWTP into the St. Martin River since the MDE could, at some point in the future, refuse to issue a renewal of the permit. This may also be related to his statement that the point of discharge would have to be changed for an increase beyond 3.0 mgd limit.

The alternatives he provided include extending the outfall 2,000 feet southward under the Route 90 bridge into the Isle of Wight Bay, (estimated cost $500,000 or one dollar per quarter to each of 9,000 Ocean Pines users), extending the discharge 2.5 miles eastward along Route 90 to the center channel of the Assawoman and Isle of Wight Bays (estimated cost $3.0 million or $5 quarterly/user), or extending the plant discharge 3.5 miles to the Ocean City plant for ocean discharge (estimated cost $4.5 million or $7 quarterly/user). Spray irrigation, the most costly option ($8.8 million or about $20 quarterly/user) and deep well injection ($5.0 million or $15 per quarter/user) were also listed as potential options.

Mr. Escher classified service to some areas in the service area, primarily along Route 589 to the north and south of Route 90, as not being economically feasible at the present time based upon too few customers. Based upon his recommendation the commissioners seemed resolved to limiting sewer service, at least for the present, to the south of Beauchamp Road. However, Commissioner Judy Boggs interjected that something should be done to service Showell Elementary School.

Actions by the county will include a dye study of the St. Martin River to test how the effluent flushes from the water body with tidal change and engineering studies on some phases of Mr. Escher’s recommendations.

With the completion of this regionalization study the future of the Ocean Pines water and wastewater service takes on a completely new perspective.

Interconnection of the water supply with Glen Riddle does in some respects speak to a regional approach and sharing resources, but when it comes down to the issue of sewerage, it appears it is all eventually destined for OPWWTP.

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