Urgent Message from the Mayor

Regarding the stormwater contaminants, we by no means meant to sent a wave of panic. The council are not specialists in this field. Therefore, I have reached out to the engineering firm that does our testing and reporting. I did my best to get answers to some of the questions I have been made aware of:

• There is no reason for residents to be alarmed by this news. Fecal coliform is a bacteria and is prevalent essentially everywhere, including surface water and storm water, and is most frequently associated with wildlife. This is simply a case of the level in samples collected this year being higher than the State benchmark (which is essentially a background level). The notice sent to residents was not intended to cause alarm or to chastise anyone. It is simply meant to advise folks to take simple steps to help minimize wildlife activity (e.g., keeping waste containers closed, not leaving food out, etc.).

• The samples were collected from where storm water ENTERS the drywells (i.e., from the surface) not from standing water within the drywell. The source of the fecal coliform would be from the ground surface, not from an underground source such as a cesspool. There is no exposure pathway between the water sampled and buried features such as cesspools. The source could only be humans if they were defecating on the ground surface in an area where rainfall drains to catch basins in the street. That does not seem to be very likely in Maywood Park.

The Monday, February 3rd Council Meeting has been moved to Tuesday, February 4th so that a representative from the engineering firm can be in attendance to answer any further questions. The agenda will be posted and sent out at the usual time, the Friday before the meeting.

You may also go to the website under the heading “Stormwater” and read more information about the Stormwater Management Plan and see the reports. https://cityofmaywoodpark.com/stormwater