As it appeared in yesterday's Baltimore Sun:

Sometimes good news still stinks ("Md. sewage spills have ebbed with drought," Jan. 2).

One case in point: When the Maryland Department of the Environment reports that only 24 million gallons of untreated sewage spilled into our rivers and streams between January and September of last year, that was a lot better than the 352 million gallons that spilled in 2003, but still enough sewage to fill 40 Olympic-size swimming pools.Who can we thank for this reduction? Not anyone here on Earth.
Sewage spills are down mostly because it hasn't rained much. But droughts end. And when this one does, sewage will once again pour into our water - unless we act now.

We need to start investing in our water infrastructure, and we need tougher public notification laws so we all know just what's in our water.

Right now, Congress is considering the Raw Sewage Overflow Community Right-to-Know Act, which would require the public to be alerted in the event of a sewage spill.

It's common-sense legislation, but disappointingly, only three of Maryland's eight representatives and one senator have signed on as co-sponsors.

When we finally know just what's in our water, voters will demand that their civic leaders clean it up.

When that happens, we'll all have some good news, and we won't even have to hold our noses.

Katherine Baer
Riverdale

The writer is Director of the Healthy Waters Campaign for American Rivers