The current Lewes BPW members would like to blame everyone but themselves for the catastrophic 4 million-gallon sewage spill over nine days in December 2019 from the Lewes wastewater treatment facility. The BPW was asleep at the wheel, including two current members seeking re-election: Tom Panetta and Robert Kennedy.
The catastrophic 4 million-gallon sewage spill in December 2019 from the Lewes WWTF went on for nine days. Partially untreated sewage was being discharged into the tidal wetlands and the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal. This is a violation of the Federal Clean Water Act without an NPDES permit which they have from Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. Over the nine-day period the flood tides carried up to 2 million gallons of partially untreated human sewage over the marsh then down the canal toward Henlopen Acres, the North Shores Basin, and the fragile Rehoboth Bay.
Over the same nine-day period the ebb tides carried up to 2 million gallons of partially untreated human sewage over the marsh and down the canal out through the Roosevelt Inlet onto Lewes Beach. An environmental impact study requested by BPW and supervised by Mr. Panetta was completed by CARDNO after the spill, but there was no mention in the EIS of the impact on Lewes drinking water supply or the aquifer, and no mention of possible fecal contamination of Lewes Beach. Because of severe health concerns from human waste bacteria, DNREC suggested boiling water for human consumption and placed a 21-day restriction on consumption of shellfish from the area.
How could the Lewes BPW ignore numerous early warning signs prior to the disaster?
1. The 2015 Comprehensive Plan, penned by the Planning Commission which included Mr. Panetta, stated in the Wastewater Section: According to the 1999 Greenhorne and O’Mara Flood Mitigation Plan and quoted in the 2011 Hazard Mitigation and Climate Change Adaptation Action Plan: “Potential damage to this facility (Lewes WWTF) poses a serious risk to the community. Access to this structure would likely be cut off during a 100-year event. Damage to the facility could cause a break in service, which would affect all residents and shelters as well as emergency operations (services) at the Beebe Medical Center. Furthermore, flood damage could result in a failure at the plant and might lead to an overflow of the plant’s contents, resulting in a serious health risk to the community.”
2. The filters were installed in 2007 and the manufacturer stated that the filters had a 10-year life span and should be replaced in 2017.
3. The 2016 WWTF annual report suggested that the filters were near the end of their 10-year life span.
4. The turbidity meters were original and should have been replaced.
5. BPW explained that prior to the spill only $25,000 had been earmarked for the current fiscal year and replacement funds had been moved back to fiscal year 2020/2021.
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