Baltimore County moves Perry Hall Manor sewer plan from pump station to grinder-pump system after property talks fail

Baltimore County is redesigning the Perry Hall Manor sewer extension as a low-pressure grinder-pump system after county negotiators failed to secure property for a planned sewage pump station, officials said at a community meeting Thursday evening.

"This is a health project," Lauren Buckler, director for public works and transportation, said at the virtual meeting. She and technical staff described a switch from a gravity-and-pump-station design to individual grinder pumps at each participating home and answered residents' questions about costs, timeline and property access.

County engineers told residents the change was necessary because the county could not acquire a site for the pump station despite multiple attempts. "They made the choice not to sell to the county," Buckler said about property owners the county approached. With the pump-station option unavailable, staff presented a low-pressure design that places grinder pumps on each participating property and pressure mains in the roadway.

Amy Bly, sewer design section chief for the county Department of Public Works and Transportation (DPWT), said the system will be designed so homes drain by gravity to a watertight grinder-pump basin. "All of the grinder pumps will be installed and owned and maintained by Baltimore County," Bly said. She added that the county already owns and maintains about 3,000 grinder pumps countywide and that the devices include alarm panels and 24/7…