Rainfall through September was 8.7 inches below average in Baltimore, which also reported sewage spills of only 377,460 gallons, compared to average spills of 47.7 million gallons through September.
The drought was worse elsewhere in the state, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Rainfall measured in St. Mary's County was 14.7 inches below the average; and in Montgomery County it was 15.2 inches below the average. Only Western Maryland approached normal rainfall, getting 1 to 4 inches below normal.
Gary Wyatt, chief of utility engineering for Baltimore City's Department of Public Works, acknowledged that the lack of rainfall helps, but he pointed to city efforts in recent years to repair its 100-year-old sewer system.
"There's a combination of things" that will reduce overflows, Wyatt said.
He said the city has repaired 55 of the 62 major problem spots identified in its 2002 consent decree with the MDE and the federal government. After fixing the problem spots, workers will inspect much of the city's 1,360 miles of pipes to repair cracks and clear blockages.
Under the consent decree, the city will have to make an estimated $900 million worth of repairs to update its sewer system and curb overflows by 2016.
Allegany County is also evaluating problems with its sewer system and beginning to fix some of them, including upgrades to its manholes, Yoder said.
The county leads the state this year with 16.3 million gallons of overflow - 67 percent of the total so far. It has also had some of the highest rainfall, at 30.9 inches through September, down from an average of 34.5 inches.
"Like anything else, we need more funding to make the repairs," said Yoder, who noted that Allegany does not have as many resources to draw on as Baltimore.
Overflows are down from the six-year average in the city and 19 counties this year, in many cases by more than 90 percent. Caroline County's 250 gallons this year, the lowest in the state, is 99 percent below its nine-month average of 25,640 gallons.
Wicomico County, with about 1.16 gallons in spills so far this year, and Somerset County, with 90,700 gallons, have more than tripled their average, the result of a single incident in each case.
Mechanical failure caused a three-hour sewage overflow March 20 in the parking lot of the Centre at Salisbury mall, which contributed more than 1 million gallons to Wicomico County's 2007 total, according to the MDE data.
"Pipe failure" was the cause of an 80,000-gallon spill Sept. 10 into the Jones Creek near U.S. 13 in Somerset County.
Merrifield said that jurisdictions can only solve their overflow problems with better maintenance and by spending more money on upgrades.
"Rain is an issue, but I wouldn't say it's getting any better," Merrifield said. "None of these systems are getting any newer."
