A joint ocean outfall project is estimated to cost between $87 million and $94 million. County council voted last year not to partner in an ocean outfall with Rehoboth, preferring to pursue land application. If Rehoboth goes it alone on an ocean outfall, the cost has been estimated at $34 million. Any Rehoboth solution would include Dewey Beach, North Shores and Henlopen Acres, all of which pump their effluent to Rehoboth’s wastewater treatment plant.

The county’s study showed six alternatives:

No. 1A – Rehoboth pumps raw wastewater to the county’s Wolfe Neck Regional Wastewater Facility with disposal on land at the Inland Bays Regional Wastewater Facility

No. 1B – Raw wastewater is pumped to Wolfe Neck with disposal at a private facility

No. 2A – Treated wastewater pumped to Wolfe Neck and disposed at the Inland Bays facility

No. 2B – Treated wastewater pumped to Wolfe Neck and disposed at a private facility

No. 3 – Rehoboth pumps to an ocean outfall with county pumping at Inland Bays

No. 4 – Rehoboth and county pump to a common outfall with the county still using the Inland Bays facility.

The cost to Rehoboth residents for any of the first three options ranges from $1,010 to $1,430. For the two ocean outfall options, user costs are $550 and $635, respectively. The current user rate in Rehoboth is $325.

The report concludes that for the county, the costs of a combined ocean outfall and land application project are essentially equal. The county has already made an investment in land at the Inland Bays facility for use in a land-application project.

For Rehoboth residents, ocean outfall appears to be the most cost-effective method. As far as user costs go, the report determined that a public/private partnership was not cost effective compared with the other alternatives.

Mayor Sam Cooper, who has generally favored ocean outfall, has said he wants to make a decision on an alternative by the end of the year.

Public hearing set for Nov. 7

The next step towards making a decision is a public hearing scheduled for 10 a.m., Saturday, Nov. 7, at the Rehoboth fire hall.

The city commissioners will hear public comment on each alternative, as well as comments on a county/city partnership. Speakers will have three minutes to make comments. Written comments prior to the hearing can be sent to the building and licensing department at 306 Rehoboth Ave.

For the past year, various parties have given opinions on the city’s decision.

The Delaware chapter of the Surfrider Foundation opposes ocean outfall and says land application is cleaner and more environmentally sound. Professor William Ullman of the University of Delaware’s College of Earth, Ocean and Environment has said in presentations to the Rehoboth Beach Homeowners’ Association and the commissioners that ocean outfall is the best solution for the city and will not pollute the ocean.

Bob Stickels, Sussex County’s representative on the state’s Clean Water Advisory Council – a primary source of funding for the project – said the council has no official position but has told the city to strongly consider land application or water reuse.

“Rehoboth is important,” he said. “The method should not affect funding as long as it meets the environmental requirements. The city will have to make the decision.”

Stickels said he plans to be at the Nov. 7 hearing.

For more information on the city’s alternate wastewater discharge methods, visit cityofrehoboth.com.