Sussex OKs return of Wolfe Neck tract to public

Sussex County officials will move forward with a plan to convert nearly 400 acres of farmland at its Wolfe Neck Regional Wastewater Facility to reforested woodlands that will return the land to a natural state providing public access to parts of Cape Henlopen State Park that have been closed for two decades.

At its Jan. 10 meeting, Sussex County Council approved negotiating a new long-term lease for the land, which is owned by the state as part of the park but leased to the county.

During a Jan. 10 presentation to council, county engineer Hans Medlarz said the lease for use of the land expired on Dec. 31. On his recommendation, council approved a one-year extension of the current lease to allow time to begin long-term lease negotiations. With the preliminary approval in hand, Metlarz will come back to council for approval of the long-term lease, which will contain finalized conversion plans.

The lease would run for 25 years and include a 25-year renewal.

“We have reached a fork in the road concerning the long-term viability of this facility,” Medlarz said. “This plan benefits the environment and the citizens of Sussex County.”

No room for expansion and problems with the spray application process during wet and cold periods of the year have become issues at the Wolfe Neck plant.

Treated wastewater is sprayed onto the 376-acre parcel for crops harvested for nonhuman consumption, such as livestock feed production. But factors such as weather, planting and harvest times, pesticide application and drying conditions affect how much and when effluent from the plant's lagoons can be sprayed, Medlarz said.

“Trees allow for a more evenly distributed flow of treated wastewater and consistent, uninterrupted application,” Medlarz said. “This project will ensure the long-term viability of our operation, which is a significant investment of the county’s wastewater system.”

The plan would not diminish the facility's 2.3 million gallon per day treatment capacity, Medlarz said.

A transformation of the treatment plan

Medlarz said instead of the traditional farm-type irrigation rigs, the new plan will use fixed-head commercial-type sprinklers and underground drip irrigation.

The land would continue to be used for spraying treated wastewater, but instead of discharging onto crops, as has been done the past 20 years, the effluent would irrigate hundreds of acres of trees and vegetation, to be planted with assistance from the Center for the Inland Bays. State officials would build walking trails and open select areas to the public with access to the nearby Junction and Breakwater Trail between Lewes and Rehoboth Beach.

“It's a win-win,” said Delaware State Parks Director Ray Bivens. “This is a part of the state park that the public has no access to.”

Officials also plan to improve the Junction and Breakwater trailhead at Wolfe House with additional parking and restroom facilities.

County approval of the project is awaiting a finalized plan, including annual costs to lease the land as well as project costs to convert the land to woodlands, Medlarz said. Sussex County will cover costs for the Center for the Inland Bays to reforest the property, as well as provide some funding to build public trails. The trails will be maintained by the Division of Parks and Recreation.

County officials expect the plan to take three to five years to complete.

Inland Bays upgrade critical to plan

The Wolfe Neck facility is one of four county-owned complexes that treat waste for more than 60,000 customers, mostly in eastern Sussex County. Built in the mid-1990s, the facility currently services homes and businesses in unincorporated portions of the county near the Route 1 corridor in the Lewes and Rehoboth Beach areas. It is designed to treat 2.23 million gallons of wastewater daily and higher flows in the summer.

Helping to make the project possible is a more than $14 million upgrade to the Inland Bays wastewater treatment facility on Cannon Road near Long Neck. A new pump station on Route 1 has the capability to divert wastewater to either the Wolfe Neck or Inland Bays treatment plants. The upgrade ensures that Wolfe Neck will not exceed its spray capacity as growth occurs in the West Rehoboth sewer district.

Nine miles of pipe is currently being placed in the ground to connect the pump station to the Inland Bays plant.

The Inland Bays facility has 2,000 acres available for expansion while the Wolfe Neck facility is landlocked with no room for expansion.