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On a private boat tour, Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski got a firsthand look at the Back River Wastewater Treatment Plant in Dundalk.
Environmentalists said raw sewage has been discharging from the Baltimore City-run treatment plant, polluting the Back River.
But the Maryland Department of the Environment said there was no indication the discharge was raw sewage, but that there was no clear-cut evidence to confirm where the pollution came from.
| RELATED: MDE: Material resembling feces found near Back River plant 'is not raw sewage'
In March, an environmental watchdog group raised concerned over the discharge of potential raw sewage, much of which they said resembled human feces in the Back River. That prompted the state to take over operations at the treatment plant weeks later after an inspection showed clogged filters and inoperable storage tanks.
| RELATED: MDE: State takeover of Back River plant is environmental rescue mission
Environmentalists still say problems persist, including evidence of pollution that they said continues to pop up at the Back River. Both environmentalists and the county executive said solutions need to come soon.
"So that folks know, 'Hey, the water's not safe right now. Let's wait. Please don't enter the water.' Don't do anything related to the water until the bacteria levels return to a safe number, and there's no system in place for that right now on Back River, and we're not sure why and that is our ultimate goal," said Desiree Greaver, with the Back River Restoration Committee.
"While we don't have any operational control, we will be out here monitoring and looking and as a county government, doing whatever we can to ensure that we have safe operating systems," Olszewski said.
While Baltimore County does not have control over the wastewater treatment plant, it did recently announce a remediation program to use planes to spray down midges, otherwise known as gnats, along the Back River.
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