SOLA3 celebrates 20 years of accomplishments

A few dozen friends and supporters of Save Our Lakes Alliance3 turned up for the organization’s 20th anniversary party Sept. 21.

President and founder Sallie Forman said nobody was caring for Rehoboth Beach’s freshwater lakes when the organization started. SOLA3 has done a lot over the last two decades, and it’s grateful to have been embraced by the community, she said. 

Founded in 2004, SOLA3 is the only nonprofit, all-volunteer organization dedicated to protecting, preserving and maintaining Silver Lake, Lake Comegys and Lake Gerar.

Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach, first elected in 2002, said he was in attendance at the first SOLA3 meeting in 2004 when the organization’s board members were elected. During the Sept. 21 party, he was presented a plaque from SOLA3 for all the hard work he’s done on behalf of the organization’s efforts.

In return, Schwartzkopf and Sen. Russ Huxtable, D-Lewes, presented Forman with a tribute from the House and Senate to honor the organization's continued work.

For more information on Save Our Lakes Alliance 3, go to sola3.org or email saveourlakes@sola3.org.

SOLA3 accomplishments

• City adopted an ordinance that requires a 10-foot no-build buffer around Lake Gerar and Silver Lake. SOLA3 asked for a 15-foot setback
• 425 feet of highly eroded shoreline along Silver Lake, owned by the city, was restored with a living shoreline, using funding from the state through a cost-share grant to the city
• A natural riparian buffer was installed along the shoreline of the city’s Stockley Street Park
• Shared cost with the city for state testing of the water at the finger of Silver Lake for toxins
• In late spring or early summer, SOLA3 sponsors an annual cleanup where volunteers amass on foot and in boats to haul away piles of debris
• Working with the Lake Comegys Association of Homeowners, a former state right of way around Lake Comegys was converted to a conservation easement
• The state dredged the west end of Silver Lake to create a deeper channel and a wildlife habitat
• Working with the city, the state installed two stormceptors in large storm drains at Stockley and Laurel streets (fed by 29 other storm drains) that flow into Silver Lake
• A bird identification marker will be installed on the western shore of Silver Lake
• Continued education program with fifth-grade students at Rehoboth Elementary School
• Pursued enforcement of illegal dumping of fill at the south portion of Silver Lake this past summer
• After years of local and state governments denying ownership of Silver Lake and Lake Comegys, SOLA3 presented its research to support state ownership. Subsequently, Delaware’s solicitor declared that the state owns the lakes and that DNREC is the agency responsible for their management
• Oversaw the installation of a new spillway by the state that helps regulate water levels in Silver Lake.