Three miles long, surrounded by the Bay and the Choptank, connected by a drawbridge. There is no such thing as a Tilghman parcel outside the Critical Area.
Call (443) 258-5440Tell us the road or the creek you're on and what the system is doing — you'll get an answer specific to this ground, not a generic county quote. Call (443) 258-5440.
Talbot Septic serves Tilghman Island and the lower Bay Hundred — septic replacement, BAT systems, repair and maintenance at the working end of Route 33, where the island's sewer district covers the core and everything beyond it runs on-site. Call (443) 258-5440.
Tilghman is the county's edge case in the literal sense: a narrow island between the Chesapeake Bay and the mouth of the Choptank, crossed at Knapps Narrows by Maryland's hardest-working drawbridge. The county operates a Tilghman wastewater plant serving the island's core district — but outside that district, on-site systems do the work, and every foot of the island is within 1,000 feet of tidal water. Critical Area rules aren't a zoning question here; they're the whole map. Any new or replacement system is a BAT system, full stop — and the Bay Restoration Fund grant applies, with failing systems first in line.
Island ground is as low as Talbot ground gets, which makes maintenance the cheap defense: tanks pumped on schedule, BAT blowers serviced, small repairs done small. A watermen's island where half the properties host weekenders also means plenty of systems nobody watches from Monday to Friday — a service contract with an alarm response is what watching looks like from across the Bay Bridge.
Failing system, upcoming purchase, or a BAT that needs service — call and get the answer for this exact stretch of the county.
(443) 258-5440Both: the county's Tilghman plant serves the island's core sewer district, and properties outside it run on-site septic systems. Which side of that line your parcel sits on is a one-call answer.
Yes — the island is entirely within 1,000 feet of tidal water, so the Critical Area BAT requirement covers every on-site replacement. Most owners qualify for the Bay Restoration Fund's 100% unit funding.
That's half the island's reality — yes. Scheduled service, alarm response and full replacements are all managed remotely for off-island owners.