You have a difficult decision before you in the choice between installing an ocean or land-based treated sewage discharge system for Rehoboth. I believe the immediate cost of constructing an ocean outfall pipe for discharge of treated sewage appears to be lower if one does not consider the cost of possible externalities associated with the selection of this option. However, I would ask you to carefully consider the possible impact of such a decision on local assets that may not currently be in your calculus and the cost of attempting to rectify damage to those assets if such occurred.

Ocean and salt marsh ecosystems constitute some of Rehoboth’s most valuable assets. No other community has these unique assets and they are essential for our community’s economic and spiritual health and critical to our ecological prosperity. As you who are in business know well, people pay good money to come here to Rehoboth to visit primarily because of the purity of our lovely beaches and ocean waters and the special sense of place imbued by the lakes and bay that are intertwined within our community. These ecosystem assets provide us with tangible economic benefits in the form of revenues to hotels, restaurants, the city and so forth from tourists who come here to enjoy them.

Further, the salt waters of the ocean, bays and marshes are an essential part of the lives of those of us who live here throughout the year. I am sure you will agree that they give us sustenance and pleasure in a myriad of ways. If we distress these assets then we degrade our heritage, ecosystem, economic engines and possible opportunities our saltwater ecosystem provides for our children.

From an ecological perspective, our tidal zones constitute a major staging area for shorebird migration, with millions of birds finding habitat and nourishment along our shores during the peak of migration. Ocean tides move coastal waters inland around areas like Gordons Pond and Cape Henlopen. Actions that distress our ocean waters will impact flora and fauna in both the ocean and our coastal estuaries. Natural distresses that result from ocean dumping of treated sewage can be devastating both to the economic sustainability of our human colonies here and to the other flora and fauna with which we share the ecosystem. When treated sewage is dumped into our ocean it directly affects organisms that use and are in our ocean and contiguous saltwater ecosystem, and indirectly affects human health and resources.

While those giving you technical advice may assure you that the potential damage is negligible, I would ask if they have modeled and quantified the consequences of possible human error in management in each system and considered which system exposes our most valued assets to the greatest vulnerability to risks we simply do not understand at this point in time? Can we as a community honestly afford to take the risk of human error or limited technical knowledge in relation to the discharge of sewage into our ocean? I don’t think so. I am sure environmental advocates have made you painfully aware of the instances in Florida and other states where dumping treated sewage into the ocean has had devastating environmental consequences due to human errors.

I trust you will execute your best judgment in carefully considering this matter and thank you for the time you take to read this note.
John E.H. Ryan, PhD
Rehoboth Beach

Ocean outfall is the obvious choice
Following years of study and discussion of the wastewater issue, leaders of our fine city are now in a position to decide between land application and ocean outfall. The evidence is in and it clearly points to ocean outfall as the better choice.

On environmental impact - our nearly pure wastewater is simply not needed on nearby lands, which are already saturated with water tables barely below the surface. Routing our water out to sea will allow its few remaining nutrients to be widely dispersed in the vast ocean and will allow our water to remain a part of nature’s overall water cycle that is essential to our coastal environment.

On cost - there is no debate, just significant savings with ocean outfall.

On control and management of our wastewater system - ocean outfall will be a city of Rehoboth Beach service, not part of a much larger county-managed system in which Rehoboth Beach is a minority player. With ocean outfall our future will be predictable and manageable.

The choice could not be more obvious. It is time for the Rehoboth Beach commissioners and mayor to act in favor of ocean outfall.
James E. Ellison
Rehoboth Beach

Horseback riding group says thanks to all
Southern Delaware Therapeutic and Recreational Horseback Riding Inc. (SDTRHR) would like to thank everyone who participated in our 7th Annual Fall Redden Ride & Walk on Oct. 25 at Redden State Forest in Georgetown. Thanks to all of your support, SDTRHR had a very successful day! The beautiful fall weather, delicious food and great turnout made it a fun fall day for all!

A special thanks goes to the following individuals whose contributions made this fundraiser a great success! The VonRitchie family, Donnel and Robert Bailey, Sasha Hudson, Pat and Paul Romaine, Hugh and Hillary Earls, the Townsley family, Lorrie and Anna Stroup, Melissa and CJ Reed, John and Angel and Catherine Smart donated their time and talents to help SDTRHR’s fall fundraiser run smoothly. A wonderful variety of raffle items and monetary donations were given by Wanda Richardson, the Layton family, Helen Heim, Gail and Bill Schaffer, Beth Howard, Gloria Boyer, Connie Fisher, Linda Greene, Carol and Don Smith, Hey Good Looking Salon in Milton, Jay Pastore – Gallery 50, Southern States in Milford, Tractor Supply in Dover, Kays Feed Supply in Delmarva, Rick’s Heritage Saddlery, Lotions & Potions, TGIF, Fifer Orchards, Milton Salon, Donut Connection and Rogers Signs Inc. Thanks to all of your contributions SDTRHR had one of our most successful Redden rides!

Thank you to Redden State Forest for allowing SDTRHR for the past seven years to hold our fall fundraiser’s in such a beautiful setting. And last but never least, a big thanks to all of the riders and walkers, new and returning, who supported our 7th Annual Fall Redden Ride and Walk! Thanks to all of you, SDTRHR raised more than $3,000 that will provide rider scholarships and help cover the rising cost of horse care. This vital support from participants, donors and volunteers enables SDTRHR to continue providing equine-assisted activities to children and adults with special needs in our community. Thanks to all of you we are able to improve lives one stride at a time! For more information on SDTRHR visit our website at www.sdtrhr.com or call 644-1920. Thank you!
SDTRHR, Inc.
Lewes

Coastal-Georgetown AAUW thanks merchants
The Coastal-Georgetown AAUW would like to thank those who supported our fall scholarship fundraiser at the Rusty Rudder. We would especially like to thank the following businesses who contributed the many prizes for our fundraiser: 1776 Restaurant, Bad Hair Day?, Bethany Blues, Browseabout Books, Confucius Chinese Cuisine, The Greene Turtle, Grotto Pizza, Lotus Spa, Mariachi Restaurant, Monograms Unlimited-Vera Bradley, Nage, Rehoboth Yoga and Twila Farrell Fashions.

The C-G AAUW awards two scholarships annually. One scholarship is awarded to a female graduate of one of the following high schools: Cape Henlopen, Sussex Central, Sussex Tech, or Indian River and another scholarship is awarded to a female recipient of an AA degree from Del Tech’s Owens Campus who is pursuing a bachelor’s degree at a four-year college or university.
Marty Johnson,
president
Coastal-Georgetown AAUW