Protect Rehoboth’s Silver Lake

Rehoboth’s Silver Lake is a rare gem: natural, freshwater lakes seldom occur so close to the ocean’s edge. It’s long been a favorite resting place for canvasback ducks and other migrating birds, and it’s known as a place where birds rarely sighted in Delaware have been known to show up.

Besides birds, anglers often dangle lines along the lake’s edge, competing with the resident heron for fish, while children feed the turtles from the footbridge.

Silver Lake is a rare resource, one that deserves protection from citizens and from government at every level.

Toward that end, Rehoboth officials recently stabilized lake shoreline and installed stormceptors to reduce sediment and pollution, while state and local officials formed a task force set to deepen the lake’s shallow western tip.

Yet at the same time, a house is under construction so close to the water’s edge that it appears to be in the lake – and to date, no official has stepped in to halt it.

Ownership of land along the lake is complicated; parts of the lake lie within Rehoboth Beach, while other parts belong to the state.

But no matter who owns what, that anyone would consider building so close to the water is unconscionable; that government has no tools to prevent building a structure with no visible setback and no buffer is beyond belief.

At the very least, work on the house should be halted until Rehoboth Beach officials publicly verify property lines were properly ascertained.

If some loophole has been discovered that allows measuring a setback from under water, city and state officials should take steps to close the loophole immediately before a wall of concrete foundations encircles what is now a glittering gem.

Citizens of Rehoboth Beach and Delaware expect their government to protect the state’s natural resources, and Silver Lake is certainly one of them.