South Bethany officials hear from flood consultants

Photo courtesy of Susan Lyons and Coastal Point

Credit to: Coastal Point, Susan Canfora

South Bethany’s Community Planning Advisory Committee this week discussed pervious vs. impervious surfaces, and heard suggestions from consultants from the University of Delaware and residents for ways to control flooding and the quality of water that flows into the town’s canals.

Mayor Edie Dondero introduced consultants Jen Reitz and William DeCoursey and said the Town had hired them to “help us do some long-term planning related to resiliency and what the Town should be looking at to make long-term plans to enhance resiliency to address future issues, like sea-level rise.”

She clarified that impervious surfaces don’t allow water to flow into the ground below, while permeable, or pervious, surfaces allow water to be absorbed

Also at the July 28 meeting she suggested offering incentives for residents who work to make surfaces pervious.

Dondero said incentives could include expedited permit fees, public recognition, awards (such as a lawn flag or having their name mentioned in the town newsletter), and offering grants and loans to upgrade property.

“Those types of programs have been known to work. There are grants and loans, but right now is really a trying time to look at grants and loans, because they are a moving target,” she noted, though low-interest loans to install green roofs and other conservation measures appeal to property owners, she said.

“There are stormwater impact fees. If you reduce the amount of impervious [surface] on your property, you get a reduction in your fee,” she offered as an example, though South Bethany doesn’t currently impose such fees.

A longtime contractor told committee members that those who build new homes make sure their property is higher than their neighbors’ so water runs downhill onto their neighbors’ lots. He suggested those building new homes, or razing old homes and rebuilding, be required to excavate driveways down to the water table and then fill the space with sand and pea gravel, to carry water more easily down to the water table. He said the system would “filter into the water table, and that would provide a level of filtration and purification.”

Dondero said she would add the suggestion to the list of ideas.

Reitz reviewed what percentage of a lot is allowed to be pervious vs. impervious in towns including Bethany Beach, Lewes and Rehoboth Beach.

Dondero emphasized that the committee is not a decision-making body but was meeting to generate ideas.

About 400 property owners had responded to a survey sent in April, and the Town hosted a community meeting in May “to hear presentations from the consultants about sea-level rise and how it is contributing to flooding,” the mayor said.

Another community meeting will be planned.

Another item on the agenda — a discussion of minimum and maximum driveway widths — was moved to the committees next meeting. Dondero said the date hasn’t yet been set but will be announced.