Sewage spill in Annapolis creek leads to public health advisory
A sewage spill in Boyds Creek off the South River in Annapolis has prompted a public health advisory, the Anne Arundel County Department of Health said.
The health department urges people not to swim, waterski, or have any direct water contact for a week.
Public health advisory signs are posted as a reminder.
People who touch the affected water should wash well with soap and warm water immediately, and wash their clothing, the health department says.
6,100 gallons spilled
According to the Anne Arundel County Health Department, the Department of Public Works (DPW) stopped the leak and completed the repairs.
The spill was contained, and it was a total of 6,100 gallons.
DPW vacuumed all the standing water, cleaned the roadway, and spread lime on the grass.
Recent fuel spill in Baltimore's harbor
In June, a contractor for Johns Hopkins Hospital spilled at least 5,000 gallons of diesel fuel into Baltimore's Inner Harbor.
The spill began on the Johns Hopkins Hospital campus on Fayette Street near Broadway when a contractor overfilled emergency generators.
That diesel fuel washed through the storm drains to the Baltimore Harbor.
Johns Hopkins has promised to pay to clean it up.
"As I spoke to [Baltimore Fire] Chief Wallace last night, he felt very confident we were in the place where we needed to be, being able to open up some of the roads and things like that," Mayor Scott said. "The team has done a great job. We'll just continue to monitor as we move forward and make the adjustments necessary. But as of right now, the remediation of this has gone as smoothly as possible," Mayor Brandon Scott said.
More than 100 personnel from the U.S. Coast Guard, City Department of Public Works, and City Fire Department worked to contain the fuel.
Crews used absorbent material and a skimmer to feed the fuel into a pump truck. The spill turned the harbor red due to the dye in the fuel, officials said.
Baltimore City Fire Chief James Wallace said four contract companies were at the harbor with vacuum trucks and boats. The fire department opened fire hydrants in the area to flush the storm drain system and contain the fuel.
Contractors also skimmed the surface of the water to pull the fuel off the water and vacuumed it into the truck.
Wallace said the department is being proactive to prevent the spread of the fuel, using booms across the harbor. Several chains of absorbent material will take in oil, while the final boom will prevent it from spreading.