A look at an interactive map detailing the status of all sanitary sewer overflows – whether just reported or as much as four months old – will be among the topics covered at the second annual Sanitary Sewer Consent Decree public meeting. The event is set for Wednesday, Jan. 23, at 1800 Washington Blvd., headquarters of the Maryland Department of the Environment, in Baltimore. The public is invited and the meeting is free.

The event will begin at 6 p.m. with an overview of the work covered by the Consent Decree, especially work over the past 12 months. Doors will open at 5:45 p.m.

DPW has been developing the online map of known sewer overflows, regardless of size, and hopes to make it available on its website soon. An explanation and demonstration of the map will be provided at the public meeting.

Visitors may also gain more information about other specific parts of the Consent Decree by speaking with experts from the Baltimore City Department of Public Works (DPW) at individual learning stations set up in the meeting room. Topics to be covered include preventive maintenance programs, the Headworks Project, and the Expedited Reimbursement Program for basement backups caused by wet-weather events.

The annual public meeting is a requirement of the Modified Consent Decree, entered in U.S. District Court on October 6, 2017. The information presented at the meeting, as well as public comment collected during and after the meeting, will be made available on the DPW Sanitary Sewer Consent Decree webpage.

Baltimore citizens and others interested in learning about the Modified Consent Decree may learn more by visiting http://publicworks.baltimorecity.gov/sewer-consent-decree . Visitors to that page may also sign up for email notifications of important developments in the course of the Consent Decree.