Capes Cove requesting Lewes BPW services
A manufactured home community just outside Lewes is seeking reprieve from what residents consider to be failing utility systems.
Lewes Board of Public Works General Manager Austin Calaman said Capes Cove inquired about connecting to BPW services when work started for the new Tower Hill development on New Road. The community of about a dozen homes has its own centralized sewer and water system, but reportedly began experiencing failures of those services.
“The biggest thing for them is they wanted to know how much it was going to cost,” Calaman said.
The State of Delaware has acted on and provided insight regarding the wastewater side, but has yet to discuss the water aspect. Calaman said that there are a lot of moving parts in the process.
As part of a memorandum of understanding with the city, the BPW needs permission to serve customers outside city boundaries, Calaman said.
The City of Lewes would need to either waive the pre-annexation requirement or Capes Cove would need to sign a pre-annexation agreement to obtain such permission. City Manager Ann Marie Townshend said the city has not been contacted by anyone from Capes Cove to discuss annexation or pre-annexation.
Townshend said a pre-annexation agreement signed by the owners would allow the mayor to vote on behalf of owners if Lewes were to pursue annexation after the properties become continuous. She said an annexation referendum would be required.
Prior to moving forward with either wastewater or drinking water, the BPW would need to obtain a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity from the Delaware Public Service Commission. Differing from Donovan-Smith manufactured home park, the CPCNs would need to be collected from each property owner before moving forward.
Should the project advance, one similarity Capes Cove will have with Donovan-Smith is that a new system will need to be constructed. BPW officials are looking into a gravity system or a mini pump station to serve the community. One problem with current sanitary services is that it is just one system serving the entire community; if it goes down, all homes lose service.
