ST. MICHAELS, MARYLAND — The Talbot County Sanitary District says a property owner emailed on Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026, about ponding water at 23669 Mt. Pleasant Circle in St. Michaels. Staff did not see that email until Tuesday morning, Sept. 8, then confirmed a sewage discharge, the county said in a Sept. 10 press release.

Pump trucks recovered ponding wastewater. Staff excavated. A contractor repaired a faulty pipe connection. County staff estimated about 500 gallons reached the ground and surrounding soil, and about 300 gallons were recovered. After backfill, personnel applied lime. On those figures, about 200 gallons were not recovered.

The discharge was reported to the Maryland Department of the Environment shortly after 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 8. A five-day incident report “has also been completed,” the county said.

The Sept. 10 notice covers the address, estimated volumes, the pipe repair, lime, and the MDE report time. It is silent on whether wastewater reached a ditch, creek, or the Miles River, and it gives no Environmental Health finding. A July 27 county notice on a July 26 leak at 24490 Tricefield Court in St. Michaels named a STEP connection and a 200-gallon release, and it used the same next-morning MDE report after an after-hours call.

Talbot County Public Works lists a St. Michaels wastewater treatment plant rated at 660,000 gallons a day, serving St. Michaels, Rio Vista, Bentley Hay, Royal Oak, Newcomb, Bellevue, Unionville, Tunis Mills, Copperville, and Martingham. A county Resolution 250 sewer-extension letter posted on Granicus describes force-main work through Mount Pleasant and from Mt. Pleasant Landing Circle under Broad Creek. The Sept. 10 press release uses the shorter street name “Mt. Pleasant Circle.”

Questions on the public-health determination: Rachel Leahy, Director of Environmental Health, 410-770-6880, weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Questions on the discharge or repair: Josh Elliott, County Engineer, 410-770-8170. Suspected leaks: Sanitary District emergency line 1-877-469-3494, monitored 24 hours. The Sept. 7 report in this case went by email, not that emergency line.