Share: 

County seeks line into Rehoboth wastewater treatment plant

8-inch-pipe under Lewes-Rehoboth Canal would connect two systems
February 26, 2020

Story Location:
Rehoboth Beach Wastewater Treatment Plant
2 Bay Road
Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971
United States

Sussex County has applied to the state for a permit to connect a pump station on Oyster House Road to Rehoboth’s nearby treatment plant. The public has an opportunity to comment on the application through Tuesday, Feb. 25.

According to a Feb. 5 public notice from Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, the county has submitted a subaqueous lands permit application to install an 8-inch-diameter, 160-foot-long wastewater pipeline underneath the canal to the plant. The notice says the pipeline would be directionally bored at least 17 feet below the canal’s mudline.

Sussex County Engineer Hans Medlarz said, under an agreement between the city and county, the county is allowed to use up to 42 percent of the treatment plant’s capacity. He said right now, on any given day, the county's percentage of the load is 20 percent, but on a July 4 weekend, the load could be as high as 40 percent. This hookup, the county’s third into Rehoboth’s system, will increase the input by 2 or 3 percent, he said.

Medlarz said the new hookup would be bidirectional, which would mean in the case of an emergency, the city would have the capability of diverting up to 50 percent of the treatment plant’s wastewater into the county's system.

In an email Feb. 13, Rehoboth Beach Public Works Director Kevin Williams said the city supports the county’s application, and the plant can handle the additional load.

“The city and county have a great working relationship and this partnership provides benefits to both sides,” he said.

Williams said he had no concerns, environmental or otherwise, about running a line under the canal.

Documents for the application are available for review by contacting Gayle Calder, Wetlands and Subaqueous Lands Section, 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901, at 302-739-9943 or by fax at 302-739-6304.

Comments on these applications must be submitted by Tuesday, Feb. 25. A public hearing on the above applications will not be held unless DNREC Secretary Shawn Garvin determines a hearing is in the public interest or if a written meritorious objection to the application is received.

Subscribe to the CapeGazette.com Daily Newsletter