REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. -- On Wednesday, in partnership with the City of Rehoboth Beach, the Town of Dewey Beach, Sussex County, and DNREC, the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers presented a draft lake management plan for Silver Lake and Lake Comegys to officials and neighbors.
The plan identifies and discusses jurisdictional code requirements and provides clarity on ownership and maintenance requirements/expectations. The plan also helps to better understand the water quality of the lakes and establish best management practices that provide for environmental protection and public safety.
"It goes through a variety of sort of different efforts in management as it is now, and then it sets up some short and long term conditions and things that can be looked at into the future," says Steve Rochette with the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers.
The plan was presented at a public meeting in the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center. Invasive plant species, water level, water quality, and stormwater management are some of the factors that the plan addresses. Rehoboth Beach Public Works Director Kevin Williams says some neighbors attending the meeting voiced concerns about the lakes' health and water levels.
"Down closer to the ocean, they're more worried about lake level that's too deep, too high that some of it infiltrates into their basements so they don't want it to cause problems," says Williams. "If it gets too low, the people at the western end, they're out of water and they have mud out behind their doors."
However, Silver Lake neighbor Burke Flickinger attended the meeting and wasn't happy with what he heard. He thinks the lake is fine as it is.
"Usually, most of the residents, none of them are kept in the loop," Flickinger. "So you have the Corp which is wonderful and they have a plan, but there's just a lot of contradictions and we get frustrated because quite frankly, the health of the lake...these bass out here are big ones!"
According to officials says the Army Corp will discuss the public's feedback and present a new draft plan to city, county, and state officials in the next 30 to 45 days.
