REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. - An approximately 80-year-old wastewater pump station that services Rehoboth Beach, North Shores, and Henlopen Acres has been torn down. The demolition of this facility began Monday on State Road in Rehoboth Beach. The old pump station was found to be in dire need of repairs or replacement.
“About a year ago when we were doing our routine inspections and maintenance, underground there is this large concrete vault called a wet well. All the wastewater comes into the wet well and then gets pumped out to the plant," said Public Works Director Kevin Williams. "When we dewatered it and got inside of it and could inspect the wet well, we saw that we had lost a lot of the concrete walls, themselves, and we felt it was at risk of collapsing."
After about a year of planning and budgeting for this project, work has begun. The demolition of the old facility and then reconstruction of the new wastewater pump station is expected to take approximately six months to complete. According to Williams, Rehoboth Beach customers should not notice any disruptions in their sewer service while construction is taking place as two temporary back up pumps are in place.
The total cost of this project is approximately $2.8 million. This project has been fully funded and the costs are not expected to be put back onto the customers in Rehoboth Beach, North Shores, and Henlopen Acres.