The following reflects the timeline of public communication regarding the Lewes BPW wastewater treatment problems resulting in the discharge of partially treated effluent that began Dec. 18 and again Jan. 1:
• Dec. 23 The Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Control issued a press release. This was the first public notification describing what had happened and the corrective action that had been initiated.
• Dec. 24 was the first direct BPW contact to residents via an emergency message on our landline telephone, some six days after the start of the problem.
• Dec. 29 a followup press release was issued by DNREC advising that the Lewes BPW Wastewater Treatment facility problem, which had discharged partially treated effluent for nine days, had been corrected.
• Jan. 2 an email was received advising another malfunction and discharge of partially treated effluent into the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal. These problems resulted in the immediate closure of shellfish harvest areas for 21 days due to health concerns in the lower Delaware Bay. Lewes residents were requested to reduce water usage by avoiding multiple partial dishwasher loads, partial laundry loads, reducing shower time and minimizing unnecessary flushing of toilets.
Key questions regarding these emergency problems:
• What was or was not done that resulted in these emergencies?
• Was BPW management onsite during these emergencies?
• What was the total cost of these emergencies including personnel, materials and all other non-routine expenses?
• What changes will be made to procedures and public notification? It’s most important to note that residents affected by the problem
Dec. 18 should have been contacted by Lewes BPW in a more timely manner. All residents rely on Lewes BPW for prompt information relating to health and safety. This wastewater problem also caused me to re-examine the current legal action between the City of Lewes and BPW. As a result of my review, here is a brief summary of key events regarding this legal issue:
• Talks between the city and BPW regarding pre-annexation had been underway since 2017.
• Pre-annexation has two elements; property that has a contiguous border to city property and secondly, property not contiguous to city property.
• The city, at the request of BPW, passed a pre-annexation ordinance.
• Without contacting the city, BPW initiated legal action.
• The key issue: Does the city and city council have oversight authority regarding BPW or is BPW an independent entity?
• BPW is the only municipal utility in Delaware not under oversight authority of a local government.
• It is clearly time for Lewes BPW to become a part of the city’s organizational structure under the oversight authority of the city manager, city council and mayor.
• The court will issue its decision during the early months of 2020. In my opinion, this issue, in addition to costing in excess of $250,000 of taxpayer and rate payer money, demonstrates the need for open communication, transparency and a professional willingness to adhere to commitments. Partisan decision-making seldom works. Teamwork, with mutual respect for people and process, is clearly the preferred approach.
Paul Griffith
Lewes
-
A letter to the editor expresses a reader's opinion and, as such, is not reflective of the editorial opinions of this newspaper.
To submit a letter to the editor for publishing, send an email to newsroom@capegazette.com. Letters must be signed and include a telephone number and address for verification. Please keep letters to 500 words or fewer. We reserve the right to edit for content and length. Letters should be responsive to issues addressed in the Cape Gazette rather than content from other publications or media. Only one letter per author will be published every 30 days. Letters restating information and opinions already offered by the same author will not be used. Letters must focus on issues of general, local concern, not personalities or specific businesses.
