Health department seeks $10,000 to expand monitoring-well network; commissioners tell staff to use fund balance and revisit fees

St. Mary’s County health department staff asked commissioners on March 12 to approve $10,000 to add shallow monitoring wells to the county network used to determine the start and end of the septic perk season.

Why it matters: The county relies on the monitoring-well network to judge groundwater levels and, therefore, whether septic systems in specific areas can pass perk tests. County staff said the current network is dated and sparse in some parts of the county; adding wells would allow more localized decisions and better long-term trend analysis.

What the board approved and asked for

- Commissioners directed staff to use available FY2019 fund balance to pay the $10,000 one‑time drilling and setup cost. Staff said the initial installation is a one‑time capital cost but maintenance and occasional replacement would be ongoing.

- Commissioners asked the health department to propose a revised perk‑test fee structure that would fund future monitoring-well maintenance and replacement. Staff and commissioners discussed raising the perk-test fee from the current $212 to a higher per-test fee; staff was asked to return next week with a fee schedule and an estimate of how fee revenues would fund long‑term monitoring.

Technical details discussed

Health staff explained the proposed wells would be in the shallow (unconfined) aquifer — typically 6–30 feet deep — and would not directly interact with deeper, confined aquifers used by larger commercial or municipal pumps. Commissioners expressed interest in targeting new wells where local conditions (for example, Golden Beach and other low-lying areas) make perk decisions more sensitive.

Ending

Commissioners approved the $10,000 one‑time request from fund balance and asked staff to return with a proposed fee adjustment that would fund ongoing maintenance and future wells.