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cgentry02 t1_jaaoubd wrote

56 million in beavers, please! 🦫 🦫 🦫

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yeaughourdt t1_jab5rcs wrote

Where the hell are you getting beavers for only $1?! Have I been getting ripped off paying $12 per beaver this while time?

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PleaseBmoreCharming t1_jaa24gk wrote

Is the city, or even the metro area getting any of this money?? The article doesn't event reference any projects in the city, let alone the area.

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Animanialmanac OP t1_jaa9tpj wrote

The article says specific projects for the funding have not yet been announced.

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PleaseBmoreCharming t1_jaaqxf9 wrote

Thanks. Just surprised that WMAR would pick this up when it really doesn't have any local impact - that we know of.

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Matt3989 t1_jab4viu wrote

50 million toward statewide wet infrastructure will obviously have a local impact. Particularly considering how many engineering and construction companies for the state are based in Baltimore.

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eskiedog t1_jabrca6 wrote

You know what sucks about our local companies? Our own state doesn't use them in so many projects. And I really did not know this until I researched the company that created the new portal for unemployment. When that huge disaster came along, I found out the company headquarters was in India, when we had plenty of amazing ones here in maryland! Then I started looking at other city projects and it was all the same....Very disappointing.

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z3mcs t1_jacbkrm wrote

This sounds like a great thing to report to local Baltimore media, whether it's the banner or wmar or wbal or the Sun. If you don't want to email, there are plenty of local reporters active on twitter.

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micmea1 t1_jad479w wrote

Let's hope it goes to actual infrastructure upgrades and not some non-profit with empty promises and big paychecks.

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S-Kunst t1_jabxnor wrote

Lets hope it does not require an insider company 6million of that, to dole out the money.

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toxicMountainFrost t1_jaaz2ov wrote

If only Baltimore City knew how their water system actually worked...

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Matt3989 t1_jab57n6 wrote

What do you mean by this? We have a much better wastewater system than WASA in DC or PWD in Philly.

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Animanialmanac OP t1_jach11k wrote

No we don’t. The city is under a consent decree from EPA because of how bad the sewer system is. In my neighborhood in Southwest Baltimore the sewers back up with every storm, the sewer water goes into people’s basements and into the streets form the storm drains. That sewer water goes right into the bay.

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Matt3989 t1_jachy10 wrote

WASA and WSSC were/are also under Consent Decrees (I think WSSC's is over, but WASA's is still active), but instead of tracking down and correcting SSO's, they're doing it for CSOs.

It's amazing: Sewers don't back up when you can dump the excess into your storm drains and never even realize it. Both WASA and PWD systems are built on "Magic Pipes" (Where does this sewer pipe flow to? Who knows, Who cares. Not our problem). At least Baltimore knows when we have an overflow event.

By "Better" I should have specified: More Modern. In that we don't have any crossover between our sanitary and storm water systems.

Edit: A link to some info about DC's combined sewer system:

  • CSO overflow events are triggered by <1" of rainfall
  • Warning lights for when the Potomac or Anacostia Rivers are contaminated
  • Greater than 1" of rainfall causes water quality issues for at least 3 days

And that's just WASA, WSSC is singlehandedly responsible for the condition of Sligo Creek (and many others). Philly has all of these same problems, and a lot less oversight. If you don't look for the issues, you won't find them.

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Animanialmanac OP t1_jaclrod wrote

The Baltimore system may be more modern but it’s not better. They don’t know, won’t admit, where all the SSO’s are, the city fixed the problem dumping sewer water into the harbor by redirecting it into people’s homes. Both Philadelphia and DC have programs to stop the sewer water from coming into homes or going into the streets. Baltimore only has a program to repay for a little bit of clean up after it happens, and only if you’re friends with your councilperson. The vacant homes in Southwest Baltimore have basements filled with sewer water, it comes out the basement windows, goes into the streets when it rains. That’s not better even if it is more modern. Baltimore doesn’t do anything to prevent the overflows into houses or the streets.

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Matt3989 t1_jacnx2c wrote

Also not a unique situation to Baltimore: https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/dc-mayor-tours-sewage-damage-in-northeast-washington/2417058/

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Animanialmanac OP t1_jacp4to wrote

That’s an article about DC’s mayor helping people whose homes were damaged by the sewer water! DC’s mayor helped the people, had companies clean the damage and has a program for the city to install the prevention valves for free so it doesn’t happen again. Baltimore doesn’t do this

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Matt3989 t1_jacqlnw wrote

>Edgewood residents told News4 that they received no promises for disaster relief and they were referred to homeowners insurance for damage from sewer backups. Some say they have already been told that insurance companies won’t cover this type of damage.

Did we read the same article? No where in it does it report that those residents actually got help. Mayor Bowser was paying lip service, same thing you get here.

This article (paywall) says that DC water later committed to offering up to $5,000 per property for restoration (same limit you can apply for here) which definitely doesn't cover the damage.

>Days later, her basement was gutted down to the studs. She and her neighbors have thrown away couches, appliances and family heirlooms. Some have no hot water because their water heaters were compromised. And after D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) visited the neighborhood last week, Sarstedt was disappointed in the city’s failure to offer financial support for rebuilding after remediation.

I get that you want to show that Baltimore DPW does a bad job when it comes to these things, because they do. Most other places do an equally bad job.

Infrastructure is incestious: you get the same best practices, the same specs, the same standards, etc. in DPW's around the country. They generally have the same problems and the same 'solutions'. Baltimore gets more news articles written about it's issues than DC because it's Baltimore, DC is a World City and Baltimore might be best known for The Wire.

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Animanialmanac OP t1_jacv8ai wrote

DC gives people money to fix the problem before it happens, and gives people money to dry out their basements. Baltimore has a program to reimburse money after you already pay for clean up, no one I know was able to get reimbursed. I listened to the city council hearing on this problem the only person who was reimbursed was a friend of the councimwoman.

I experienced this myself for years in Baltimore, the city doesn’t reimburse people. My son lives in DC and experienced the opposite, DC paid for a valve to be installed before his basement ever flooded.

You shared a news story about a single flooding event after historic rainfall in DC when the same thing happens every rainy day in Baltimore. If Baltimore gets more news stories about our issues because of the Wire, where are the news stories about the sewer water flooding from last night? Or from three weeks ago when the sewer water froze to the street? Baltimore DPW, mayor and council people don’t do anything about it.

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s2theizay t1_jab6frj wrote

I was wondering about this. A while back, I developed a perfectly healthy obsession with sewer systems and blueprints. I couldn't find a well- mapped out reference for the city's water systems. The only available maps were in the county and stopped at city borders.

Of course, just because they weren't publicly available it doesn't mean they don't exist. But it systems aren't known for being up-to-date.

A poorly mapped out system could lead to Jackson-like problems

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Matt3989 t1_jab8ptw wrote

Much of Baltimore's sewer system was rebuilt anew after the great fire. Because of that, we have one of the most modern systems of the Northeast.

While other cities' systems required massive upgrades in the 50s and 60s to separate their sanitary from their stormwater, we didn't have that issue. Yes, it's poorly recorded by as-builts/GIS, but that's not a huge issue in itself. Even well mapped systems need lots of field verification.

Infrastructure investments are made for 80-140 year lifespans, which means that timing can make a huge difference.

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s2theizay t1_jac0oan wrote

Wow, thanks! I didn't know any of that.

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waterorsharks t1_jacdrc7 wrote

Maybe you need to move from a "perfectly healthy obsession" to a perfectly unhealthy obsession of our sewer system

1