Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) crews worked around the clock on August 9, 2019 ,to stop a Sanitary Sewer Overflow (SSO) at its Broad Creek Wastewater Pumping Station in the Fort Washington area of southern Prince George’s County. The SSO began at approximately 11:12 a.m. on Friday and was stopped about 12 hours later at 11:37 p.m. The pumping station, which has resumed normal operations, is located at 10315 Livingston Road.
The total volume of the overflow is estimated to be 5.22 million gallons of untreated wastewater, which flowed into Broad Creek. Crews have cleaned up the impacted area around the station and applied lime to mitigate the odor. Sixteen signs have been posted warning residents about the overflow and alerting them to avoid the area. WSSC also used its Customer Notification System shortly after the SSO began yesterday to alert residents that the overflow was impacting Broad Creek.
An investigation will be conducted to determine the cause of the overflow. Preliminary reports indicate a pipe buried approximately 30-feet deep at the station may have failed.
It is important to note that WSSC’s water and wastewater systems are separate. This overflow is not affecting WSSC’s drinking water.
Notifications have been made to the Maryland Department of the Environment and the Prince George’s County Health Department.
