Small Town News

Residents want flood control

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Demand quick fix, lasting solution

State officials have a plan to fix a longstanding drainage problem along Hudson Road between Milton and Lewes. That is good news and bad news for residents who live within a quarter mile north and south of the intersection of Hudson and Eagle Crest roads.

The good news is the proposed ditches, underground pipes and water-control devices should take care of water issues plaguing homeowners. The bad news is implementing the plan could take anywhere from one to three years.

The proposal did not totally satisfy residents who gathered to discuss water issues Thursday, March 11, at the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) south district office in Georgetown.

In a cruel twist, it was raining during the meeting, and more than 2 inches of rain over the weekend aggravated the flooding. Although the area has had water problems in the past, Brooks Cahall, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) environmental program manager, said the last six months have been the wettest on record. More than 50 acres are under water in the area of Hudson Road. Several homes are nearly surrounded by water, and one resident has been forced to vacate her home.

State officials said the best solution for residents is to form a tax ditch organization. With an easement offered during the meeting by resident Gary Chorman, that plan appears to have support, but the process could take from one year to three years.

Hudson Road resident Fred Sposato, who helped organize the meeting with assistance from Sen. Gary Simpson, R-Mil-ford, and Rep. George Carey, R-Milford, said more should be done in the short term. The Sposato family also owns three businesses on Hudson Road.

At his own expense, he has been pumping water from a pond to help alleviate some flooding. Sposato said a larger pump is required along with permission to allow water to flow onto an easement area in the Windstone development along Cave Neck Road.

The water could then be directed through drainage ditches to Red Mill Pond.

Residents asked DNREC and DelDOT officials at the meeting with assistance for a short-term solution.

At first, Jeff Reed, DelDOT district engineer, appeared apprehensive about a short-term solution because he didn't see any benefits. That was before residents were able to convince him pumping was alleviating some flooding.

Reed said DelDOT and DNREC do not get into the practice of pumping water off private lands. "So you are not spending any money to help us with a temporary solution?" Sposato asked.

The answer was no.

"Can we continue to pump onto the easement area?" Sposato asked. "All we want is permission. I will pump it."

It's estimated there are at least 100 million gallons of standing water in the area.

Sposato said the pond is going down about 2 inches per day thanks to continuous pumping.

Chorman, also of Hudson Road, said the opening of floodgates on nearby Red Mill Pond by the Hudson family has also helped. He said the water has receded about 1.5 feet due to the combination of pumping and lowering of the gates.

The Hudsons said they would continue to keep the gates lowered.

Residents at the meeting were convinced an increase in pumping would help ease the flooding problem. Some residents expressed concerns about well contamination, failed septic systems and an onslaught of mosquitoes because of the large amount of stagnant water.

After residents' comments, Reed said he would work with Sposato on a short-term solution. "A temporary solution is on our radar screen," he said. "I just don't want to jump before we check the depth of the pool."

Jessica Watson, stormwater management program manager with the Sussex Conservation District, has contacted the Windstone developer to seek permission to pump water onto the easement at the rear of the development.

Formation of a tax ditch

Reed said the best solution would be a tax ditch with an outfall to Red Mill Pond. A key to the success of creating a tax ditch district is to get all property owners to give easements for construction and maintenance.

With an easement from Chorman, announced during the meeting, the state has all the easements it needs to proceed with the process. Cahall said the next step would be the circulation of a petition to create a district.

Chorman, owner of Millman's Appliances in Rehoboth Beach, who also farms part of his land, said he would grant the easement as long as ditches did not cross his property.

Cahall said a pipe could be used in place of a ditch.

"I'm willing to do that to provide relief for everyone," he said. "The only solution is to go across my property."

Reed said officials have looked at the problem for decades, but there was never a way to gain access to an outfall such as Red Mill Pond. Now, all the pieces have fallen into place.

Under the plan, Cahall said, swales, ditches and pipes would be used to move water to a pond, a former borrow pit, where it would be monitored and a water-control device would allow it to flow to Red Mill Pond.

Reed said maintenance of the system would require the formation of a tax ditch organization. He said funds would be found to put in the system.

Property owners in the organization would elect a manger and officers and pay an annual fee to maintain the system. There are more than 2,000 miles of tax ditches in the state with more than 1,300 miles in Sussex County. More are in the planning stages because of recent flooding, Cahall said.

Simpson and Carey supported the tax-ditch option. "You can maintain yearly instead of waiting for the state to do it when there is a problem," Simpson said.

"You own it," Carey added.

Reed agreed with the legislators. "We've got drainage problems all over Sussex County, and we can't keep up with it," he said.

THE GOOD NEWS IS THE PROPOSED DITCHES, UNDERGROUND PIPES AND WATER-CONTROL DEVICES SHOULD TAKE CARE OF WATER ISSUES THAT ARE PLAGUING HOMEOWNERS, THE BAD NEWS IS IMPLEMENTING THE PLAN COULD TAKE ANYWHERE FROM ONE TO THREE YEARS.





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