Oak Orchard sewer project engineering costs approved
An engineering contract for a nearly $10 million project to extend sewer service to 192 houses, eliminating an estimated 7,200 pounds of nitrogen annually from reaching Indian River and Indian River Bay, was approved June 10 by Sussex County Council.
Council voted unanimously to pay consultant George, Miles & Buhr $488,300 for engineering services for the Warwick Park Phase 2 sanitary sewer extension project.
Council had voted March 4 to extend the Sussex County Unified Sanitary Sewer District in the Oak Orchard area to include Warwick Park, Warwick Cove and Gull Point. The area is served by septic systems.
“The connection of the Warwick Park Phase 2 community to county sewer will eliminate septic systems from 192 homes, which results in an estimated 7,200 pounds of total nitrogen being removed from the Indian River Bay on a yearly basis,” Paul Mauser, an assistant county engineer, told council June 10.
The sewage will be transported two miles away to Inland Bays Regional Wastewater Facility.
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control told Gull Point in 2012 that its operating permit would expire in five years and upgrades would be needed to meet pollution control strategy regulations, according to the sewer project summary.
The county will borrow $9,963,400 for the sewer project. Upon completion, the Delaware State Revolving Fund state will forgive up to $5,470,360 in principal, and the county will repay the balance over 30 years at 2% interest. Payments will be funded by sewer fees.
Warwick Park Development is along River Road in Oak Orchard and includes Apache Avenue, Cherokee Court, Comanche Circle, Lenape Lane, Sioux Drive and Warwick Drive. The development is adjacent to Warwick Cove and Gull Point.
Kevin Conlon came to the Cape Gazette with nearly 40 years of newspaper experience since graduating from St. Bonaventure University in New York with a bachelor's degree in mass communication. He reports on Sussex County government and other assignments as needed.
His career spans working as a reporter and editor at daily newspapers in upstate New York, including The Daily Gazette in Schenectady. He comes to the Cape Gazette from the Cortland Standard, where he was an editor for more than 25 years, and in recent years also contributed as a columnist and opinion page writer. He and his staff won regional and state writing awards.
Conlon was relocating to Lewes when he came across an advertisement for a reporter job at the Cape Gazette, and the decision to pursue it paid off. His new position gives him an opportunity to stay in a career that he loves, covering local news for an independently owned newspaper.
Conlon is the father of seven children and grandfather to two young boys. In his spare time, he trains for and competes in triathlons and other races. Now settling into the Cape Region, he is searching out hilly trails and roads with wide shoulders. He is a fan of St. Bonaventure sports, especially rugby and basketball, as well as following the Mets, Steelers and Celtics.
