Sadly, like the Rehoboth treatment plant boondoggle, the folks making decisions were/are woefully un or misinformed.
One of the major issues that should be addressed is runoff and deprivation of aquifer recharge. Annapolis is a short drive from Georgetown, Dover, DelDOT and DNREC. As with the sewer, hubris prevented Rehoboth officials from a short drive to learn. This same hubris caused Delaware to fail with the original bus system, using Baltimore/Wilmington thoughts for a beach solution
I’m sure the solutions are more expensive short term. Again, just like the Rehoboth sewer, where short term, cheap solutions are proving to be very costly long term.
When (if) the outfall pollutes our beaches, the costs will be astronomical. Lewes closings this past summer are a harbinger, not a one-off.
When/if the aquifer has saltwater intrusion, disaster.
Jim Short, an expert waste treatment engineer, who volunteered his expertise, addressed many of these issues and the inadequacy of Rehoboth’s plan, when he begged Rehoboth and the county to act in concert on the sewer in the ‘80s. The city chose George, Miles and Buhr, and paid them a ton for their very flawed advice. Sadly, one by one those chickens are coming home to roost.
It appears to me we are going down the same track, allowing the short-term “savings” option chosen by poorly informed officials and a public desperately lacking in the history or facts of previous failings of DelDOT and DNREC. Inlet bridge? Five Points? Stretch on 113 between Georgetown and Millsboro? Collapse of highway near Wilmington? Lack of long-term plan for routes 24, 26 and 9 are a few examples.
John McDonald
Rehoboth Beach
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