{"id":109997,"date":"2025-08-01T10:22:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T10:22:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/109997\/"},"modified":"2025-08-01T10:22:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T10:22:11","slug":"60-wastewater-violations-in-la-plata-town-says-drinking-water-still-safe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/109997\/","title":{"rendered":"60+ Wastewater Violations In La Plata \u2014 Town Says Drinking Water Still Safe"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Town-of-La-Plata-Addresses-60-Wastewater-Violations-1.jpg\" alt=\"Town of La Plata Addresses 60+ Wastewater Violations, Says Drinking Water Is Safe&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-1164804\"  \/>Source: LEFT- <a href=\"https:\/\/www.townoflaplata.org\/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=150\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Town of La Plata<\/a>, RIGHT- CDM Smith technical <a href=\"https:\/\/laplatamd.portal.civicclerk.com\/event\/314\/files\/attachment\/373\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">report<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>LA PLATA, Md. <\/strong>\u2014 The Town of La Plata is working to correct wastewater violations identified by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE), following five years of permit exceedances and equipment challenges. Town Manager Chuck Stevens <a href=\"https:\/\/laplatamd.portal.civicclerk.com\/event\/314\/files\/attachment\/383\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">emphasized<\/a> during the July 29 Town Council meeting that drinking water has not been affected.<\/p>\n<p>According to a June 2025 technical <a href=\"https:\/\/laplatamd.portal.civicclerk.com\/event\/314\/files\/attachment\/373\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">memo<\/a> prepared by CDM Smith, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.townoflaplata.org\/402\/Wastewater-Treatment-Plant\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">La Plata Wastewater Treatment Plant<\/a> recorded more than <a href=\"https:\/\/laplatamd.portal.civicclerk.com\/event\/314\/files\/attachment\/372\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">60 violations<\/a> between January 2020 and March 2025, including elevated levels of:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Ammonia nitrogen (exceeding limits by up to 339%)<\/li>\n<li>Copper (up to 961% above limit)<\/li>\n<li>Coliform bacteria (exceedances as high as 1,764%)<\/li>\n<li>Zinc, phosphorus, BOD and total suspended solids<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>At the meeting, Stevens confirmed that the facility is now operating within all permit limits and that the previously malfunctioning equalization tank was repaired and returned to full automation on July 28 \u2014 a critical step in improving storm response and flow management.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI just received information before this meeting \u2014 that tank is now fully back in automatic operation. So, that\u2019s a big check in the box for the town. We\u2019ve been working on that for a while and we\u2019re glad that that\u2019s operating. We\u2019ll watch that over the next week or so to make sure that it continues to operate as it is supposed to do,\u201d Stevens said.<\/p>\n<p>The violations were attributed to a combination of:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Heavy rain inflow exceeding 2.9 million gallons during peak events<\/li>\n<li>Offline treatment modules during plant upgrades<\/li>\n<li>Aging infrastructure, including disinfection and valve systems<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"622\" height=\"622\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Town-of-La-Plata-Addresses-60-Wastewater-Violations-3.jpg\" alt=\"Town of La Plata Addresses 60+ Wastewater Violations, Says Drinking Water Is Safe&#10;\" class=\"wp-image-1164805\"  \/>Source: CDM Smith technical <a href=\"https:\/\/laplatamd.portal.civicclerk.com\/event\/314\/files\/attachment\/373\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">report<\/a> | Eutek Systems Teacup grit classifiers<\/p>\n<p>The plant currently operates at about 1.22 million gallons per day, or roughly 80% of its 1.5 million-gallon-per-day (MGD) permit, with the ability to handle short-term storm surges up to 3 MGD over a four-hour period.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe town is undertaking phased upgrades to increase plant capacity to two million gallons per day, with future plans to reach two and a half million gallons per day to accommodate projected growth. MDE has approved the town\u2019s plans to expand the wastewater treatment plant capacity to two million gallons per day upon completion of the programmed infrastructure improvements,\u201d Stevens said.<\/p>\n<p>To restore and maintain compliance, La Plata:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Hired CDM Smith in April 2025 for system analysis<\/li>\n<li>Partnered with Maryland Environmental Service for operational support<\/li>\n<li>Implemented internal reporting improvements and SCADA monitoring<\/li>\n<li>Hired three additional operators in June 2025<\/li>\n<li>Updated staff training and emergency protocols<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>No fines have been issued yet, but the town is in discussions with MDE to finalize a consent order, which will include a compliance timeline. The council was told that major facility fee funds will cover the cost of upgrades and penalties, with no tax or utility rate increases planned as a result of the violations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo impact on utility rates or taxes is anticipated at this time due to this issue. And I just want to be clear here \u2014 I am not saying that taxes or sewage fees will never go up. What we\u2019re saying is that we plan to address these compliance issues using the major facility fee funds. So, taxes and fees will not rise as a result of this issue,\u201d Stevens said.<\/p>\n<p>The town has posted all <a href=\"https:\/\/laplatamd.portal.civicclerk.com\/event\/314\/files\/attachment\/374\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">violation letters<\/a>, the CDM Smith technical <a href=\"https:\/\/laplatamd.portal.civicclerk.com\/event\/314\/files\/attachment\/373\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">report<\/a> and its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.townoflaplata.org\/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=150\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">July 24 statement<\/a> on the official Town of La Plata website.<\/p>\n<p>You can watch the full recording of the July 29, 2025, La Plata Town Council meeting on the town\u2019s official YouTube channel: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@LaPlataEvents\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">www.youtube.com\/@LaPlataEvents<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"780\" height=\"780\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Town-of-La-Plata-Addresses-60-Wastewater-Violations-2.jpg\" alt=\"Town of La Plata Statement on Wastewater Treatment Plant\" class=\"wp-image-1164806\"  \/>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.townoflaplata.org\/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=150\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Town of La Plata<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><strong>Got a tip or photo? Text us at\u00a0888-871-NEWS (6397)\u00a0or email\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/thebaynet.com\/60-wastewater-violations-in-la-plata-town-says-drinking-water-still-safe\/mailto:news@thebaynet.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">news@thebaynet.com<\/a>.<\/strong><\/strong><br \/><strong><br \/>Join\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/thebaynet.com\/membership-page\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">The BayNet Membership<\/a>\u00a0for exclusive perks and zero ads.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Don\u2019t miss a story\u2014sign up for our\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/thebaynet.com\/subscribe\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">newsletter<\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Source: LEFT- Town of La Plata, RIGHT- CDM Smith technical report LA PLATA, Md. \u2014 The Town of&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":109998,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5123],"tags":[1582,276,15955,7962,746,2961,15958,224,5337,70032,70033,40598],"class_list":{"0":"post-109997","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-california","10":"tag-charles-county","11":"tag-drinking-water","12":"tag-environment","13":"tag-la","14":"tag-la-plata","15":"tag-los-angeles","16":"tag-losangeles","17":"tag-town-of-la-plata","18":"tag-violation","19":"tag-wastewater"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114953017518262355","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109997"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109997\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/109998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}