Garrett County approves amendment to water and sewer plan to extend service to failing septic areas

The Garrett County Board of Commissioners on April 7 adopted Resolution 2025-5, an amendment to the county's 2014 Water and Sewer Plan that adds targeted public water and sewer projects to address failing onsite systems and infrastructure reliability.

Planning staff told the board the amendment, which the planning commission previously adopted, includes five parts: extension of water service and annexation to provide public water to Hemlock Drive in Grantsville to replace failing septic systems; immediate extension of sewer service to Hemlock Drive; development of a redundant well for the Gorman water system after a collapse of an existing well; replacement of a failing Chestnut Ridge pump station; and upgrades to the Jennings sewer system (including pump station work and a grinder pump replacement).

County planning staff said they received draft comments from the Maryland Department of Environment and the Maryland Department of Planning and plan to incorporate non'substantive revisions (table clarifications and capacity explanations) before formal submission. The board voted to adopt the resolution and authorized staff to submit the amendment to the Maryland Department of Environment for incorporation into the state plan.

Commissioners and staff said the work is intended to improve public-health protections by replacing failing septic service in targeted locations and to increase system redundancy for water supply and sewer conveyance. The resolution was adopted by voice vote; no public comments were recorded at the board meeting.

The next step is administrative: staff will make the requested edits to respond to state agency comments and complete the incorporation process with the Maryland Department of Environment.