Schedule of Summer/Fall Events 2026 Native Garden Contest Applications OpenDate: Monday, June 8 – July 7 (see below for more information) GTA Prop-Making Event for Fourth of July parade Fourth of July ParadeWe need your help to create new props for GTA’s entry into Towson’s Fourth of July Parade! We will be creating fish and frogs from recycled materials, along with painting a new parade banner for our theme: ❤️Your Neighborhood StreamDate: Saturday, June 13Time: 11am-2pmLocation: Central Presbyterian Church Outdoor Pavilion, 7308 York Road, Towson, MD 21204 Fourth of July parade: Love Your Neighborhood Stream We need at least 20 marchers […]
Continue readingJones Falls Sewershed
Letter from the GTA Executive Committee to the Baltimore County Council regarding the Jones Falls Sewershed
May 26, 2026Baltimore County Council 400 Washington AveTowson, MD 21204 Re: Bill 37-26, 2026 Basic Services Sewerage Map (BSSM) Dear Council Members: The purpose of this letter is to express our deep disappointment with both the timing and the substance of the letter dated May 4, 2026 submitted to you by the Office of Governmental Affairs in opposition to an amendment proposed by Councilman Patoka expanding the Area of Deficiency (AOD) within the Jones Falls sewershed. As for the timing, it appears that a copy of the letter was not made available to the public in […]
Continue readingGreen Good News from Green Towson Alliance
Green Towson Alliance celebrated 10 years of friendship, advocacy, greening and environmental education in 2025. Here are some of our accomplishments. BUILDING A CLEANER, GREENER, MORE BEAUTIFUL TOWSON Community Shade Trees In the 11th year of partnership with Blue Water Baltimore, GTA helped coordinate the planting of 207 trees in 15 Towson neighborhoods in autumn 2025, including Anneslie, Campus Hills, Glendale, Greenbrier, Idlewylde, Knollwood, Lutherville,Rogers Forge, Ruxton-RIderwood, Stoneleigh, West Towson, Wiltondale, and others. Trees ranged from long-lived, tall shade trees (Willow Oak, Shumard Oak, Swamp White Oak, Tulip Poplar, Honey Locust), to mid-sized Riverbirch and […]
Continue readingGreen Towson Alliance (GTA) Calls on Baltimore County Council to hold a public hearing on the renegotiation of the 2005 Sanitary Sewer Consent Decree
The Green Towson Alliance unites Towson area environmentalists to achieve a greener, healthier, more beautiful community through collaboration and activism. Green Towson Alliance is calling for this public hearing based on our ongoing investigation of the sanitary sewer system in Baltimore County, which began when we published our 2017 White Paper, “Is Sewage Contaminating Our Neighborhood Streams?” In 2005, Baltimore County entered into a Consent Decree with Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) due to violations of the Clean Water Act – specifically the discharge of untreated […]
Continue readingPRESS RELEASE:Sanitary Sewer Overflow found at Lake Roland after heavy rains July 31, 2025
A Green Towson Alliance (GTA) volunteer discovered a manhole cover laying on the ground next to a sanitary sewer stack on the afternoon of Friday August 1, 2025. Upon further investigation, sanitary sewer debris such as toilet paper, flushable wipes and tampons were found in the surrounding vegetation along a hiking trail indicating that raw sewage overflowed from the manhole. The SSO was reported to Blue Water Baltimore and Baltimore County Department of Public Works and Transportation (DPWT). This is the third such raw sewage overflow event discovered below the dam in Lake Roland by […]
Continue readingGreen Towson Alliance discovers sanitary sewer overflow below the Lake Roland Dam after heavy rains on Tuesday, January 9th
Sanitary sewage debris at a sewer “stack” and its manhole cover lying on the ground were discovered on January 10 by a volunteer from Green Towson Alliance (GTA). The overflow near the banks of the Jones Falls was reported to Blue Water Baltimore, Baltimore County Department of Public Works and Transportation (DPWT) and Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE). Wednesday’s discovery was in the same area where GTA volunteers found a Sanitary Sewer Overflow (SSO) in 2019. The current overflow coincides with Baltimore County Council’s pending approval of the 2023 Triennial Review of the Water […]
Continue readingGTA Statement on 2023 Triennial Review of the Water Supply and Sewerage Master Plan
Green Towson Alliance (GTA) and other advocates have challenged the sanitary sewage capacity in the Jones Falls Sewershed since 2016 and are convinced that raw sewage is fouling open waters while more development is being approved. A network of pipes run alongside and under our streams to carry raw sewage from our homes and businesses to treatment plants. The state of Maryland has laws that require the conveyance of this waste to be safely contained within the sanitary sewer system. But in Baltimore County’s Jones Falls watershed, the size and condition of these pipes is […]
Continue reading