ILLICIT DISCHARGES

Howard County is mandated by Federal law to establish an illicit discharge program. An illicit discharge is a discharge into a municipal separate storm sewer, which is not composed entirely of storm water. The Department of Public Work's Storm Water Management Division is responsible for establishing the program.

While the wastewater that leaves your home is piped to a treatment facility that cleans it before it is released into waterways, waste that goes into storm drains is untreated and goes into local rivers or streams that flow into the Chesapeake Bay. Waste should not be allowed to enter storm drains and should be disposed of at a landfill. The picture at the top shows waste entering a storm drain. This waste originated when an asphalt coating was improperly applied to a driveway in Ellicott City, Md. The discharge was reported by a concerned citizen who was aware that the waste was going directly into a nearby stream.

If you see anything other than stormwater going onto street surfaces or into the storm drains in the County, please report it immediately by calling the Howard County Storm Water Management Division at (410) 313-6444, or by using the form below.