LEWES, Del. - The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control has issued a violation notice to the Lewes Board of Public Works after a system failure at the city’s wastewater treatment plant caused an internal overflow of 12,000 gallons, though none of the spill reached the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal.
The notice, dated Oct. 7, outlines a March 8 failure of the plant’s programmable logic controller system, which caused a shutdown of the membrane system at the facility on American Legion Road. As a result, wastewater backed up and overflowed from the plant’s aeration ditches. The spill did not reach the canal, but Lewes BPW President, Tom Panetta, said the wastewater flowed down the driveway onto American Legion Road.
The notice states that an onsite operator intervened to redirect the flow and prevent any of the wastewater from discharging into the nearby canal. The facility also contacted DNREC immediately, initiated cleanup procedures and brought in an environmental contractor to contain and recover the spilled material. The plant conducted voluntary sampling both upstream and downstream of the canal, which showed no signs of contamination.
DNREC cited the Lewes Board of Public Works for violating Title 7 of the Delaware Administrative Code, which prohibits unpermitted discharge of pollutants or liquid waste from a treatment system.
Panetta described the incident as a "learning experience" and says the plant is in "much better shape now." He tells CoastTV that the electrical distribution was reworked along with the replacement of some old, unrelated equipment as a means of updating the electronics.
The Lewes BPW president reiterated that there was no environmental impact from the spill. Unlike this one, a spill from the wastewater plant in 2021 did overflow into the canal said Panetta.