Ellendale taps running with clean water
Thanks to the tenacity of people like Delores Price, some Ellendale residents are finally able to connect to a central water system. It took more than 20 years for the project to become a reality.
Price, who is president of the Ellendale Community Civic Association, took center stage during a Feb. 11 press conference at the Greater Ellendale Water District facility along Old State Road hosted by U.S. Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Delaware.
“I'm very happy it has finally happened,” Price said. “There is nothing worse than schoolchildren unable to drink water or take baths and not have clean clothes. Water is life. We are full of thanks.”
The $6 million project is a partnership between Sussex County and Artesian Water Company with funding from the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services Bond Bill allocation. A $4.75 million construction contract was awarded to Pact One with work starting in spring 2021.
The district includes an area outside Ellendale town limits along North Old State Road and South Old State Road. The district was later expanded to include Washington Street with a $500,000 add-on to the contract.
So far, 110 connections have taken place with about another 100 connections planned. The annual water fee is expected to be around $400. Sussex County will operate the system and purchase water from Artesian.
Sussex County Administrator Todd Lawson said for now, residents can connect to the system free of charge thanks to money from the Bond Bill. However, he added, those funds will not be available much longer. Later, connection fees could range from $1,500 to $2,000.
For decades, Ellendale residents had been complaining to county, state and federal officials about contaminated wells. Many residents have been forced to use bottled water.
Starting in the mid-2010s, Sussex County officials met with residents to discuss formation of a water district. However, the first two referendums to establish a district failed.
County engineer Hans Medlarz said as soon as the previous referendum was defeated Nov. 4, 2017, residents approached the county with a new petition. Medlarz said the new district is smaller than the previous one and excludes a large area inside town limits containing land along North Old State Road and South Old State Road.
The third referendum passed 81-12 on Sept. 15, 2018, setting the wheels in motion.
“The Ellendale water project would not have been possible without the stalwart work of the community, including, Mr. Truxton, Bishop Foster, and most especially Delores Price. These leaders and many others who supported the initiative were diligent in gaining enough support to see the water district created. And while it took three referendums and several years in the making, the county is pleased to finally be able to deliver clean drinking water to the Ellendale community,” said Lawson.
The county administrator praised Patrick Brown, the county's head engineer on the project. “He deserves a tremendous amount of credit for seeing it through,” Lawson said.
Vikki Prettyman, representing the Southeastern Rural Community Assistance Project, said work still needs to be done. “The residents need proper infrastructure within their dwellings. We will work with homeowners and renters to make improvements,” she said.
Those improvements will include kitchen and bathroom repairs, and new washers and dryers.
In addition, she said, biweekly deliveries of 5-gallon water jugs will continue for residents who have not connected to the system.
Blunt Rochester announced that Delaware will receive $355 million over the next five years under the $1 trillion federal infrastructure bill. She added she is working to get a low-income water and wastewater assistance act passed. “If people can't afford to connect to clean water it's no good,” she said.
