An Unappetizing Topic as a Civics Lesson This week a Baltimore AIA training class for young architects to become civilly engaged professional leaders dwelled on the dark side of our built environment: Sewage. A topic most of us have put well out of our mind ever since indoor plumbing became the norm. Increasingly, though, we realize that "out of sight- out of mind" won't do if sewage pipes leak into streams, treatment plants overflow or the proliferation of septic systems challenge groundwater, streams and water bodies like the Chesapeake Bay. The State of Maryland as one of the states on the Bay is under strict
rulings by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to clean up this "impaired water body". Control of nutrients flowing into the Bay is a central concern for the clean-up. Maryland has enacted a whole set of regulations in response, all aimed at reducing water pollution.