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Millsboro rethinks
its water treatment
By FAYE LINGO
11/16/2004
We in Delaware are vulnerable with
regard to water resource issues. On
behalf of the mayor and Town Council
of Millsboro, I wanted to share what
this Sussex County community is
doing as its part of a solution.
A
public education meeting is
scheduled at 7 p.m. Thursday at the
Millsboro Town Council Chambers.
Millsboro is mid-stride in its
growth, as are many Sussex County
neighboring towns. The population in
2000 was 2,360, up from 1,643 in
1990. The town plan anticipates
4,869 residents by 2020. Public
servants elected and appointed in
the municipality are obligated to
make certain that water is available
when they need it and that
wastewater is disposed of safely,
efficiently and cost-effectively.
Yet today, growth requires greater
capacity of wastewater treatment.
The wastewater treatment plant,
which has met local needs for
decades, should be replaced. The
market value of undeveloped Sussex
County land makes Delaware's
conventional practice of disposing
of treated wastewater by spray
irrigation unaffordable.
Finally, while the potable water
supply is not a chronic issue in
Delaware, occasionally it becomes an
acute problem. It's conceivable in
the future that water shortages
could become chronic in our state.
As a result, the challenge is to
retain as much potable water as
possible that can be consumed by
future generations, without imposing
an environmental burden on the land
or people.
After Thursday's public review,
Millsboro will apply for a permit
from the Delaware Department of
Natural Resources and Environmental
Control for a new water treatment
plant providing tertiary treatment
of wastewater. That means the water
is cleaned so well that it can be
consumed by humans. Although we in
Delaware have not yet moved to the
practice of drinking
tertiary-treated wastewater, many
other American municipalities have
done so with the encouragement of
the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency.
Upon cleaning wastewater to drinking
water standards, Millsboro will then
store the potable tertiary-treated
wastewater using deep-well injection
into the Magothy Aquifer some 1,400
feet below the Delmarva surface.
This is well below any aquifers from
which water is drawn. Engineers tell
us the aquifer will keep the water
safely contained in a bubble for
thousands of years, available if and
when supply conditions warrant it.
Although the water that will be
injected will be drinkable, our
engineering plan calls for
redundancy that will insure against
leakage or other project risk.
Should any water escape the bubble,
its potable quality means there is
no risk of contamination or
pollution.
Plus, it's a better use of tax
dollars because deep-well injection
of tertiary-treated wastewater will
require a capital investment of
about $10.5 million, compared to
about $22 million for treatment and
spray irrigation.
As technologies change, we are
concerned that if we were to invest
in a new solution based on spray
irrigation, we might be stuck paying
millions of dollars in debt for a
white elephant.
Millsboro officials are convinced
this is the responsible way to solve
an environmental, social and
management issue.
Faye Lingo is Millsboro town
manager. Contact
Fayelmillsboro@mchsi.com.
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