Council approves three pumps for wastewater plant; discussion continues on water and sewer rates

The Chesapeake Beach Town Council on Feb. 18 voted to approve a purchase of up to $65,000 for three flight pumps for the town’s wastewater treatment plant and discussed an ongoing, high‑priority examination of water and sewer rates.

During new business, the council approved the expenditure “not to exceed $65,000” to buy three flight pumps, including a trial pump already installed, with funding to come from the FY25 Water Reclamation/Treatment Plant budget. A council motion to approve the purchase was moved and seconded; council recorded the motion as passed with the ayes prevailing.

Earlier in the meeting the town’s operations and public‑works staff delivered a detailed report. Jay (Public Works) and Josh (Plant operations) said the plant handled large storm flows during the recent rain event, routing excess to the shellfish protection tank and recording peak daily inflows of about 910,000 gallons on Feb. 15 and roughly 1,000,000 gallons on Feb. 16. Staff said they are investigating inflows and infiltration sources that originate outside town collection areas.

Plant staff noted routine maintenance items completed in recent weeks: repairing a clarifier by replacing a broken shear pin; solving a firewall/VPN issue with the plant control system; retrofitting a manual bar rack to reduce clogging; and addressing routine wear on UV bank electronics. Staff also highlighted the operational burden posed by so‑called “flushable” wipes, which require cleaning the bar rack several times daily and increase maintenance costs.

The town’s biosolids contractor, Synagro, remains engaged while the town awaits state guidance on PFAS sampling and classification. Plant staff said prior testing placed the town at the low end of the state’s Tier 2 threshold for PFOS (about 20 parts per billion), and the town is collecting additional lab results to establish an average value before finalizing a new biosolids contract (the current contract expires Aug. 1).

Councilmembers spent much of the meeting on water and sewer rates after lengthy public and internal discussion. Several councilmembers said they are working with an outside consultant/auditor to produce a short‑ and long‑term plan. Councilmembers acknowledged a high level of resident concern: one councilmember reported encountering a resident who said she was unsure how she would pay the next utility bill.

Councilmembers discussed options that have been proposed privately, including raising fixed charges, shifting salary allocations among funds, temporarily subsidizing bills from the general fund, and structuring a partial rebate or credit for low‑use customers. Several councilmembers warned that actions need reliable financial analysis before enactment; one said changing salary allocations (moving some utility‑charged staff back to the general fund) could lower utility fund expenditures by roughly 20% if supported by the data.

The council is pursuing an outside utility consultant to present “Utility Rates 101” in March to explain key metrics, EDU calculations and possible short‑term steps; members said the consultant’s work can be shared with partners in the regional wastewater agreement and could be cost‑shared. Several councilmembers urged using existing cash reserves and other short‑term measures to limit hardship before the next billing cycle while the longer review continues.

Votes at a glance

- Expenditure approved: up to $65,000 to purchase three flight pumps for the wastewater treatment plant (funds from FY25 WRT/P). Motion moved and seconded; council approved the purchase (ayes recorded).

- Calvert County Program Open Space FY 2026 submission approved: council approved the town’s submission list (kayak launches, railway trail expansion, Kellams Park improvements, Beach Elementary connection, natural open space parcels). Motion moved and seconded; council approved (ayes recorded).

- Other routine approvals: agenda amendments, minutes of Jan. 16, Feb. 13 and closed‑session minutes were approved by voice vote; a closed session to consult with counsel about Richfield Station was authorized under the Maryland Annotated Code General Provisions §3‑305(b)(7).

Councilmembers set a work session in March to receive consultant input and budget‑level numbers for projects including the waterpark retrofit and potential screw‑pile and concrete work the town is evaluating. Staff said vendors and engineers have been engaged and that a March work session could present budgetary ranges and decision points for schedule commitments.