Nearly four years ago, the Wicomico County Council accepted a “Water and Sewer Master Plan” addressing the lack of public water and sewer systems in much of the County. Systems owned and operated by Salisbury and other municipalities serve about 45% of the County’s residents who live within these jurisdictions or in “urban services districts” outside the city/town boundaries. Elsewhere, with limited exceptions, wastewater generated at homes and commercial buildings is directed into individual on-site septic systems that discharge into the ground. Many of those septic systems, especially older ones, are failing, and there is significant concern that they are causing environmental harm.
The Master Plan recommends two different means to address these concerns. Areas adjacent to or near the existing municipal sewer systems can potentially be served by extending those systems if they have sufficient capacity or can be upgraded to handle the additional volume of wastewater. More remote areas, such as the town of Mardela Springs and so-called rural villages (Parsonsburg, Nanticoke, Bivalve, Tyaskin, Allen, Quantico, Powellville, etc.) could be served by constructing new wastewater treatment plants, sewerage conveyance systems, and water distribution systems. It also discusses the administrative manner in which these services could be provided.
Thereafter, in 2023, the County obtained state legislation to establish a “sanitary district” that, under applicable state regulations, would develop and operate the systems. To date, the County Council has not taken the necessary action to do so, which involves the creation of a “sanitary commission” to manage the sanitary district. Other counties, including Somerset, have established such sanitary districts and commissions to provide water and sewer services.
Although Wicomico County has not yet formed a sanitary district or commission, planning has begun to provide water/sewer services to certain areas, including three older subdivisions located near Salisbury, specifically: the “presidents” neighborhood - Pierce, Tyler, Hayes and Grant streets (Lincoln Heights subdivision), Regency Drive and associated streets (Park Manor subdivision), and both North and South Delano Streets (Hyde Park subdivision). These areas have about 200 homes, many at least 50 years old, and some have antiquated or failing septic systems.
The County has obtained a preliminary (“engineer’s”) estimate of the cost to install sewer mains running along the streets in these subdivisions that would connect to the City’s system, and to fill the septic tanks with solid material so that they can safely be taken out of service but not removed. The estimated cost to complete these tasks is $8,577,085 (over $40,000 per home). The County has applied for state funding for some or all of these costs and recently selected an engineering firm to design and supervise construction of the extensions. The work could start soon and possibly be completed in 2026.
The amount that property owners in these subdivisions will be required to pay for the sewer service extension work has not yet been determined, but Salisbury’s connection fee alone for properties located outside of the city limits is presently almost $6,000 for each property. Salisbury recently adopted a sewer and water extension policy, prepared with guidance from the City’s former Public Works Director (Amanda Pollack), under which some of the homes would have to be annexed into the City. It also requires that the connection charge must be paid for all property within the affected neighborhood before service begins. Once a home is connected to the system, the owner will receive a quarterly bill for the service that will probably be at least $1,200 per year at the City’s current rates, which will increase by 6% in the next budget cycle.
Besides the project mentioned above, the County is planning to provide sewer service to the Parsonsburg area by extending Pittsville’s sewer system following completion of necessary upgrades to increase the capacity of its wastewater treatment plant. Apparently, there will be sufficient extra capacity to handle wastewater from Parsonsburg and two mobile home parks. Another prospective project involves sewer service to Mardela Springs, which does not have a municipal system, either by connecting to the existing municipal systems in Sharptown or Hebron, or alternatively, constructing a new wastewater treatment plant to serve Mardela Springs, County schools in the area, and possibly homes in the San Domingo neighborhood.
Major questions remain regarding the actual cost of these extensions or new systems, and the amount that will be borne either by the affected property owners or other County taxpayers, many of whom already have (and pay for) municipal service. The County Council recently received an update on these matters in a work session on June 17, and they are discussed in a recent episode of the “Open Agenda” program, both of which are available for viewing on YouTube and PAC 14.
Robert Taylor
Salisbury resident
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