CAMBRIDGE, MARYLAND (March 7, 2011) – Maryland Department of the Environment Acting Secretary Robert M. Summers joined officials from the City of Cambridge today to mark the groundbreaking of a project that will provide safe drinking water to an area of the municipality that suffers from the effects of failing septic systems.

The $2.27 million project will extend d​rinking water service and wastewater collection to 45 homes in the Christ Rock area of Cambridge. Many of the drinking water wells in the area are shallow and have been affected by failing septic tanks.

“This much-needed project will protect drinking water in a community that has long struggled with contamination from failing septic systems,” Acting Secretary Summers said. “Even as we work to correct the problems of the past, we must take action to prevent future septics pollution in order to protect drinking water and prevent pollution in our waterways and the Chesapeake Bay. Today, we’re glad to be part of the solution in Christ Rock -- to launch this project that will prevent pollution and protect drinking water for Maryland families.”

"This is a wonderful opportunity to see the State, city and the community working together,” said Cambridge Mayor Victoria Jackson-Stanley. “This is a day whose time has come -- I am so grateful we are a part of this happening."

MDE grants totaling more than $1.6 million, along with Community Development Block Grants of nearly $600,000, will help to pay for the project. The project is expected to be completed within 180 days.

A 2007 Dorchester County Health Department survey showed that 59 percent of the occupied dwellings with septic systems in the area were failing, creating a health hazard.

Project Costs and Funding Sources: