1) The document discusses the practice of recycling reclaimed water from wastewater treatment plants to farmers for use in spray irrigation. It notes economic, environmental, and sociological benefits but also discusses past negative public perceptions due to some facilities not following proper protocols. 2) As the population of Sussex County grows, decisions around wastewater treatment and disposal will impact the environment, economy, and community for decades. Expanding capacity through central treatment plants that provide reclaimed water to farmers for irrigation is one proposed solution. 3) Private utilities plan to build multiple new central wastewater treatment plants over the next 10 years. These facilities will need large tracts of land, around 500-1000 acres each, to apply

1. The Practice of Recycling Reclaimed Water to Farmers as Spray Irrigation
May 30, 2008—D.C. Kuhns @EDEN Delmarva.org
As the population of Sussex County grows, decisions of state and municipal policy
regarding the treatment and disposal of wastewater will have an economic, sociological
and environmental impact on citizens for the next 100 years. The challenge is as complex
as the issue of land-use planning. How do we expand capacity and whom do we serve?
The answer depends on who you’re asking. These services are inherently promised to all
people in State policy and in the recent amendment to the Sussex County Comprehensive
Development Plan. But the availability of water and wastewater affects everyone
differently. Choices and planning for the disposal of wastewater are designed to best
serve the rate payers. But these same choices will have profound impacts on the
sustainability of farming community in Sussex County for generations. At the most
basic level, the way people value water must change. There are economic,
environmental and sociological benefits to the practice of recycling reclaimed
treated water back to farmers as spray irrigation. Reliable reclaimed water can help
Delaware keep farming.
AGRICULTURE: One of the most Important Industries in Delaware
Farming is the backbone of the state economy. Delaware ranks No. 1 nationally among
all other states in the production value for an acre of land. What is grown in Delaware has
far-reaching influence on other industries, like agribusiness, fuel distribution and
consumption, transportation, food manufacturing, food services, and tourism. Unlike the
rest of the Mid-Atlantic, Delaware still has a large amount of land in agricultural
production. According to the Delaware Department of Agriculture, in 2007, 515,000
acres; nearly 41% of all state lands are still in farming. The field crops that are grown in
Delaware contribute 25% of the dollar value/year in the agricultural gross yield and
commodities (poultry, dairy products and livestock) contribute 75%. As of 2007, 2,300
farms are still in active production.
Even though farming is one of the most important and productive industries in the state,
farming is losing ground. Delaware farming was at its peak just after World War II, with
new advancements in technology, improved transportation corridors, and able-bodied
men back from overseas. Around the late 1940s roughly 800,000 acres were in farm
production. Since 1970, farming has been steadily losing ground, declining from 715,000
to 515,000 acres in production. Most of the losses have been the small family farms;
those with less than 100 acres. As the market value of farm products have not risen fast
enough against the cost of production, small farms are simply not sustainable. Farmers
and farm families from smaller farms have gotten part-time jobs or just gotten out of the
business. Most of the land taken out of agriculture has been converted to new housing.
During the biggest housing boom in its history, between 1994 and 2006, an average of
between 5,000 and 10,000 acres per year were converted into subdivisions and
commercial improvements.

2. Up until now, the losses in agricultural land have not been alarming because Delaware is
still a largely rural landscape and a good portion (51%) of the remaining farms large
enough in size to be self-sustaining. Even so, residents in Delaware for generations and
new immigrants that moved to the state because of its tranquility, natural resources, and
bucolic splendor want to have a voice in state and county planning. They want to make
sure that as the population grows, the need for new housing is balanced with the
preservation of farming and open space.
WATER AND WASTEWATER: Growth Requires a Plan for Monitoring Water Quality
In 1998, Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control
(DNREC) water quality monitoring verified that there were increasing levels of pollution
in the Inland Bays. Impervious surfaces from development, agricultural runoff, and
broken or leaking septic systems were affecting the quality of nearby wells. The runoff
and open pipe discharge of treated or partially treated water into surface waters was
impacting water quality and the fisheries in the Inland Bays. Responding to growing
concern over water quality in surface waters, the Farm Bureau and farmers voluntarily
worked to reduce nutrient loads by hiring nutrient consultants to adjust the level of
fertilizer on lands that followed an agronomic plan for specific crop rotations. The State
of Delaware instituted a draft pollution controls strategy in 1998. The draft pollution
controls strategy proposed to limit the total maximum daily loads (TMDL) of nutrients
for certain regions in Delaware, with regulations to manage the chemistry of nutrients
like nitrogen and phosphorus on the land and surface waters. These findings led to
TMDL requirements for lands, including those in Sussex County and along the Inland
Bays. The Pollution Control Strategy (PCS) was legislated into law in 2007. The PCS has
caused the public to be more aware of what practices may impact its drinking water and
recreational waters. More recently, the TMDL monitoring plan and the PCS have also
precipitated a closer examination of the impacts of population growth and agricultural
practices on the water quality in the Inland Bays.
Spray irrigation:
Spray irrigation is practiced on Delaware farms and elsewhere. In Delaware, about
300,000 acres of crops are irrigated, using diesel or electric-driven pumps to lift the water
from the water table into the above-ground, spray pivots. Last year, in 2007, over 30% of
farmers lost their crops because of drought conditions in Delaware. With spray irrigation,
using reclaimed water, these losses might not have been so high. Spray irrigation using
reclaimed water has been widely used in eight states; including Pennsylvania, South
Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Arizona, Nevada, California, and Oregon. But spray
irrigation, using reclaimed water has not often been practiced in Delaware. According to
Ron Graeber, DNREC water resources program manager, found that reclamation and
recycling of water has been limited to a few municipal treatment plants and some food
manufacturing plants. There are only 27 DNREC-permitted treatment facilities, which
recover the reclaimed water for spray irrigation. According to Mr. Graeber, “…the public
perception of the past practices for the use of reclaimed water is largely negative -- which
has created a resistance among farmers that frankly need the water to sustain their crops.

3. At DNREC we know that recycling reclaimed water back to farmers is a smart practice. It
just makes good sense...” The fact is that certain permit holders did not follow protocol
outlined in the permits, causing problems for the tenant farmer. In some cases, the
industrial facility over-watered the land. In other cases sludge, which is now a
“designated waste” was placed on the same farmland under spray irrigation. Bad past
practices made tenant farming difficult, and these experiences have created “horror
stories” for the farming community about farming with reclaimed water. These horror
stories are larger than life, and today, still influence the public perception about using
reclaimed water on farmland.
The land based application of spray irrigation is the method preferred by municipalities
for recycling reclaimed water back to the ground. For example, New Castle County has a
large facility called Water Farm One. Middletown, Odessa, Townsend utilize the
Middletown wastewater treatment plant and spray fields. Georgetown puts its treated and
reclaimed water on the Baxter Farm, and Sussex County Department of Public Works has
four facilities, including Inland Bays, (___MGD capacity) Piney Neck, (___MGD) and
Wolfe Neck, (3.1 MGD) but you mentioned four facilities?. All of these treatment
facilities use land-based, spray irrigation application to recycle water back to the farmers
and recharge groundwater.
Large spray irrigation tracts
In 2005, Sussex County acquired 2,100 acres of land for the purpose of recycling
reclaimed water from the Inland Bays treatment plant. Currently the county sprays
reclaimed water on only 200 acres of this land. The property is farmed by tenant farmer
Roland Hill Jr. According to Mike Izzo, chief engineer for the Department of Public
Works (DPW) the remaining 1,900 acres of land at the Inland Bays tract has additional
disposal capacity for between 8 and 9 MGD is this the first time we encounter MDG, we
need to define it, or nearly another 30,000 users. Artesian Water Company, one of four
private wastewater utilities in the state, received county and DNREC approval for its (I
think the acreage is inflated, but I know nearly 4,000 units are proposed to rise 1,700 acre
Villages Elizabethtown Elizabeth Town tract in mid 2007. According to Randy Wyatt,
spokesperson for Artesian, the Elizabethtown Elizabeth Town facility will ultimately
serve 40,000 users. Tidewater Environmental Services Inc. Utilities, according to Bruce
Patrick, vice president of engineering, is planning new central facilities over the next 10
years that will serve growth regions in Sussex County, where the company sees strong
market demand for wastewater services in the coming years. Currently, Tidewater has
focused on 4 of these new planning regions, near Rehoboth Beach, Milton, Ellendale and
DelMar, where significant growth in new housing starts will require community systems
for about 20 new subdivisions. Tidewater is planning several central treatment systems
that will each serve several communities. Each of these treatment facilities will be
centrally located near farms that can take the reclaimed water as irrigation flow.
Tidewater recently (April 15, 2008) filed for the conditional-use application for its
Angola Neck facility to serve several new subdivisions just outside of Rehoboth. Each of
the new central plants that Tidewater and Artesian plan to build over the next 10 years
will need an average of between 500 and 1,000 acres to serve the approved subdivision
customers in the region.

4. PRIVATE AND MUNICIPAL UTILITIES -Central Plants Need Acres for Reclaiming
Treated Water:
The Private Utilities have adopted the new business strategy that will gradually change
treatment facilities from community systems—serving single subdivision, to larger
central plants—serving multiple communities. Over the next 10 years each private utility
intends to build multiple central wastewater plants. Tidewater intends to build 12 central
plants. Artesian reports a similar number on its drawing board. All of these future plants
will need to have 500-1,000 acres of nearby lands on which to be able to place reclaimed
water. The challenge has been to acquire enough lands to take the reclaimed water. In the
last 5 years, municipalities like Millsboro, Georgetown, and Rehoboth have all tried to
purchase land for wastewater disposal and failed; because land was too expensive. While
many legacy farmers in Delaware are land rich and cash poor, they would rather not give
up the land that their families have farmed for generations. One of the private utilities,
Tidewater, has designed a special economic package for legacy farm families; farm
families that have been farming three generations or more. The utility offers to lease the
farming acres, while still allowing farmers to farm the land or preserve the land, or do
any hunting or recreation activity on the land that is compatible with the lease.
Reclaimed Water: economic benefits to farmers
According to its new business strategy, Tidewater, as a provider of central plants would
become much more like a monopolized utility—able to offer better service, more
reliably, for less cost. Tidewater’s new business model for central planning relies on four
components: i) the customer—new subdivisions, ii) the franchise right to serve the
customer, (CPCN) iii) the treatment plant for cleaning and reclaiming water, and iv)
leased land for placing or recycling the reclaimed water back into the ground. Tidewater
has proposed that the farmer not give up his land but put his land to work, under an
irrigation lease. If the farmer would agree to take the reclaimed water as irrigation flow,
then Tidewater would deliver the water to his field and pay him to take it. The land lease
proposition has five benefits to the farmer:
1. Additional cash revenues for the farm through lease payments
2. Reducing fuel costs to pump the water to the fields
3. Reducing fertilizer costs through fertigation—providing nutrients in the
reclaimed water
4. Increasing yield through the continuous flow of reliable reclaimed water
5. Rendering the fields drought-resistant through reliable flow
The utility would receive the benefits of having a large tract of land for its central facility,
where it could apply a land-based application (LBA) for wastewater disposal for the term
of the lease.
The first farm to accept the Tidewater proposal was Wandendale Farms, Inc., a 365-acre
farm that had been operated by the Marsh Family for seven generations. Russell Marsh,
one of the members of the partnership has stated “…the Tidewater lease will mean that

5. we can now have some things that we could only dream about before….like financial
stability, a college education for the children, monies placed in trust that ultimately they
could use to build their own houses when they have families…”
Economic and environmental benefits for government:
The private utilities’ business strategy also offers indirect economic and environmental
benefits to government. In each case, the central plants will be infrastructure that is
funded with private investment, not paid for from State funds or grants, and not paid for
with taxpayer dollars. In the current downward economic cycle this program could be a
savings for the State or Sussex County. Funds not spent on wastewater infrastructure
could then be set aside for other critical infrastructure projects. The private utilities’
central plants can be built more quickly to serve customers that might not be served by
municipal service providers for many years. For each central plant to be built, the utility
would need 500-1000 acres of farmland on which they can recycle the reclaimed water as
spray irrigation.
The reliable continuous irrigation water will create sustainable farming and help recharge
the groundwater. In the reclaimed water that the utility delivers to the farmer’s field there
are imbedded nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus that will provide some of the
fertilizer for the specific feedstock crops. This fertigation will benefit the Inland Bays
because the imbedded nutrients will reduce the application of fertilizer for crop nutrients.
Fertigation will reduce the probability of agricultural run-off. The utility’s spray
irrigation leases with farmers will benefit nature by creating permanent open space as
long as the farmlands are an integral part of the treating, reclaiming and recycling of
water.
RECYCLING RECLAIMED WATER: A Possible Alternative for Rehoboth’s
Wastewater Planning:
The City of Rehoboth Beach has announced plans to withdraw its discharge pipe from the
Lewes-Rehoboth Canal, where the effluent flows to the Inland Bays and re-direct the
effluence through an ocean outfall system, 6000 feet out into the Atlantic Ocean, just
south of Cape Henlopen State Park by the year 2014. The Board of Commissioners for
Rehoboth Beach has elected (has not elected, was forced to by federal regulations or they
would be fined) to write a Request for Proposal document that would outline
specifications and terms under which a contractor, for either ocean outfall or land based
alternative, could submit a construction proposal and pricing to the town for a wastewater
project alternative.
Cost is the most critical concern:
The cost will be about $1,000 annually to each town rate payer, after the new system is in
place. Whether the land-based alternative is more or less costly, will depend on several
variables, including which land site is used, the type of financing, and whether the City of
Rehoboth or the private utility pays for the pipe and treatment site.

6. Wastewater’s effect on coastal chemistry
Anyone who explores the environmental issues of ocean outfall versus land based spray
irrigation quickly becomes mired in the arguments about whether one or both are harmful
to the environment. In fact there are dozens of ocean outfall systems along the Atlantic
Ocean, with two here on Delmarva; in Bethany Beach and Ocean City. Most people
swimming in the resort beaches don’t know that these big pipes have been in the water,
releasing effluent since before 1975. Three facts, however, are true when examining
Delaware Ocean Outfall: i) credible, well-respected scientists like Dr. William Ullman
of the University of Delaware can effectively argue that because of the “dilution” from
billions of gallons coming south from the Delaware River that there is “no harm” from
ocean outfall; ii) there is no record of any scientist measuring the effects of these two
Delmarva ocean outfall systems on water quality and aquatic life, and iii) certain coastal
states, like California and Oregon, as well as the country of Australia are exploring the
possibility of eliminating ocean outfalls in the future.
The land-based disposal methods also have critics. DNREC was one of the protagonists
in the battle to get Rehoboth to stop discharging its treated water into the Rehoboth-
Lewes Canal. DNREC is also the champion of the “TMDL” regulations. The agency
fears that Rehoboth’s treated and reclaimed water that is transported out to the Angola
Neck region may still deposit too much nitrogen and phosphorus on the ground which
can ultimately find its way into surface water that runs in to the Inland Bays. But now,
thanks to the work by DNREC and others, these concerns can be addressed with
scientific modeling before any spray irrigations facilities are constructed at Angola Neck.
Both plans are for wastewater disposal are viable and have economic, environmental and
sociological impacts on the future of Sussex County land use.
WATER USE: How Do We Value and Use Water Resources?
How do we preserve water resources in the future?
The public debate on ocean outfall versus land-based alternatives for treated water has
caused many citizens in Sussex County to think a little bit more about water use? What
are the daily demands on the resource? Who is competing for the use of water? Where
does it go after it is used? How much is left in the aquifer—and how long will it last us?
These questions go to the very heart of the challenge facing the City of Rehoboth and The
Sussex County Department of Public Works. Arising from all of these issues is one
central question, “…Should we continue to treat water like a paper towel—using it once
and throwing it away...?” The municipal wastewater policy in Delaware for nearly 100
years has been to treat water and dump the effluent into surface waters, where the
discharge eventually reaches the bays or the ocean. It is true that rivers and streams flow
out to sea but the water from confined aquifers do not. It is from these aquifers that we
pump our drinking water and irrigation water. Aquifers are finite resources and not
renewable unless we recharge them. One form of recharge to aquifers is through
reclaimed water used as spray irrigation.

7. Examining the need for ocean outfall
The County Department of Public Works chief engineer, Mr. Michael Izzo, has stated in
the public hearing on November 6, 2007, that the County has 2100 acres of land for land
based disposal of wastewater at the Inland Bays Plant. Only 200 acres of that land is
currently used. Mr. Izzo has also stated that the remaining lands will probably be
sufficient to serve the County’s disposal needs through 2020 or beyond, if the population
growth rate does not exceed the demand for new services at 1000 new equivalent
dwelling unit (EDU’s) per year. (An EDU is roughly equivalent to two users). Artesian
Water Company projects that it has capacity at its Elizabeth Town tract for reclaiming
and recycling treated water from 40,000 users. Tidewater Utilities has 12 more central
plants in its 10 year planning horizon that would serve another 30,000 users. Altogether
these three land based application resources have a cumulative capacity to serve 94,000
new customers. This figure does not include the additional capacity at the DPW South
Coastal Ocean Outfall project, which according to Mr. Izzo, has an additional capacity of
12 million gallons/day (equivalent to 60,000 customers). According to the demographic
section of the Sussex County Comprehensive Development Plan the population will not
grow as rapidly over the next ten years but is projected to expand from current levels of
175,000 people to reach a level of 250,000 people sometime within the 2050 decade.
While the above numbers are only estimates, one can see that if the current land based
disposal tracts are adequate to serve 94,000 more customers; for a period of the next 42
years. Why then with this much capacity would the Sussex County DPW need to
build a new ocean outfall system? The County and municipalities do not need an
ocean outfall system since the LBA systems, existing and under development, could
last another half century. It is also a fact that extended use of an Ocean Outfall
system would waste a precious water resource that is valuable to farmers.
CHOICES FOR WASTEWATER DISPOSAL: Economic, Environmental and
Sociological Issues
In the event that elected officials from Rehoboth and Sussex County can agree that ocean
outfall is the prudent course of action, and the parties can find the funding to cover the
capital investment of $140 million, then what are the economic, environmental and
sociological impacts of such a project for the rate payers and for the farmers?
Economics for town and county users:
Rehoboth Capital Cost: $25 million
Rehoboth User Fee: $451 for ocean outfall plus $497 for existing service=$948/year
Sussex County Capital Cost: $115 million
Sussex County User Fee: $325 for ocean outfall plus $600 for operations cost=$925/year
Environmental Issues:
The Rehoboth maximum capacity for its current treatment plant is 3.5 MGD, increasing
to 4.0 MGD by 2020. The Wolfe Neck treatment facility is 3.1 MGD expanding to 3.8

8. MGD by 2025. The County’s South Coastal System currently sends 9.0 MGD into the
ocean south of Bethany Beach. It has a remaining unused capacity of 12 MGD. Currently
the flow to the ocean is 5.7 billion gallons per year of fresh water removed from the
Inland Bays watershed and discharged out to sea, never to be recovered again. The
number will be double that by 2025. While there are experts on both sides of the debate
who argue whether we have a plentiful water resource in the Inland Bays, both sides do
agree that discharging 13 MGD of fresh water through the ocean outfall system will
eventually impact the groundwater resource—reducing the capacity of the water table
from which we draw drinking water and irrigation water. In Delaware the USGS has
observed that the aquifer in Northern Delaware, from which a large segment of the
population draws drinking water, has dropped 200 feet in 20 years. As ocean outfall
pumps fresh water out to sea, the water table in Sussex County will inevitably drop over
time—making it more expensive for towns and farms to draw water. Water rates will go
up for rate-payers and farmers’ energy costs for pumping the water will increase.
Sociological Issues:
The private utilities’ new business strategy will focus on large central wastewater plants
for the next 10 years while they continue to build smaller community systems where
space and economics dictate such design. Central plants will benefit farmers who can use
the reclaimed treated water as spray irrigation. Community systems, however, are seen by
farmers as a critical issue affecting the value of their developable land. While legacy
farming families want to continue to farm, they object when legislation regarding land
use policy that takes away any choices for the future. For example, in 2006, House Bill
280, which never got out of committee, would have outlawed community systems in
areas not designated for development according the Livable Delaware Plan. In Sussex
County, according to zoning regulations, agricultural-residential, (AR-1) zone gives the
100-acre landowner, by law, the right to subdivide his land at the rate of 2 units per acre
(200 housing units). If the land is worth $20,000/acre that means a developer can buy the
land for $10,000/unit of housing. Without community wastewater systems, the land might
only be able to support one septic system/acre—devaluing the farmer’s land 50%, from
$2.0 million (10,000/unit X 200 units) to $1.0 million, ($10,000/unit X 100 units). So
outlawing community wastewater systems, in areas where they were legal before,
damages farmers’ property rights.
Wastewater planning and regulation affect Farmers the most:
The farmers are the ones who will be most effected by new wastewater planning and
regulation. The land that they farm today represents the future for their families. Most
don’t want to sell but if they do, they want to have the benefit of selling land that is zoned
for development. Government regulations that limit development hurt the asset value of
farmland. Ideally, farm families that are land rich, and cash poor need to put their lands
to work today, to preserve their assets. Sometimes with small farms of 100 acres or less,
farming revenue does not provide enough cash flow to sustain the farm. It is these legacy
farm families that will suffer the worst from ocean outfall, and benefit the greatest
from spray irrigation.

9. A County-wide Ocean Outfall system will flush 13 MGD of fresh water out into the
ocean by 2020. With no groundwater recharge this ocean outfall system will cause the
water table to drop over time. The first farmers to suffer from groundwater depletion will
be the small farmers with less than 100 acres. This is because they have too few acres
over which to spread operations cost. Fuel costs have increased by 100% since 2006,
fertilizer costs have increased by 200% in two years. The drought has decreased yield, so
overall, farming is less profitable than just a few years ago. As costs rise, including
energy and fertilizer costs, many of the small family farms will get out of business and
sell the family farm.
SPRAY IRRIGATION OFFERS A BETTER ECONOMIC PROPOSITION TO FARM
FAMILIES
Spray irrigation from reclaimed water gives farmers an added source of income.
Should the DPW and Rehoboth decide not to build an ocean outfall system, then the
private utilities will be looking for land leases through which they can recycle reclaimed
water from Rehoboth and subdivisions. The 13 MGD of North Do you mean North
Shore, Henlopen Acres? Coast and Rehoboth wastewater will still need to be treated. But
with no ocean outfall this water will have to be reclaimed and recycled back to farmland
growing feedstock crops. The spray irrigation alternative will require contracts with
multiple farms for the farmers to take the reclaimed irrigation water.
Lease income for farmers
Below is an illustration of the economic benefits to the Farmer on a 100- acre farm…
Annual Base Fee and Calculated Lease Fee
a. Base fee for RIBs and/or lagoons = $1,000 per acre
b. Base fee for Spray area = $150 per acre
c. Calculated lease fee = $0.00056 per gallon
Base Fees for land RIBs, DRIP and SPRAY
a. Roads = 4 acres x $1,000 per acre = $4,000
b. Spray fee to spray on 80 acres for spray = $12,000
c. Lagoons 6 acres x 1,000 = $6,000
d. DRIP or RIBS on 10 acres = $10,000
$32,000
e. Calc. Fees for 1,200 homes = $0.00056 x
200 gpd x 365 days x 1,200 homes = $49,056
TOTAL Annual Revenues for this scenario= $81,056—$810/acre
Farm income for farmers
Below is an illustration of economic benefits to the Farmer from feedstock crops on the same 100 acre
farm…
Revenues
Corn at $6.00/bushel X 160 bushels/acre-irrigated= $105,000

10. Costs
Diesel Fuel at $100/acre (10”/acre) of production= $ 10,000
Fertilizer & chemicals at $240/acre of production= $ 24,000
Misc. Costs at $440/acre of production= $ 44,000
LABOR at $24/acre of production= $ 2,400
TOTAL Net Revenues for AG production $24,600—$246/acre
As one can see from the theoretical revenues generated on a 100 acre farm, the revenue benefit to the
Farmer is substantial for the spray irrigation lease—greater than the revenues for farming the land.
The revenues do not take into account the reduced farming operations costs, when the utility delivers the
reclaimed water, and the fertilizing nutrients in it, directly to the farmer’s field.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY: Choices for Wastewater Disposal will affect the future of
Farming in Sussex County
Choices by the City of Rehoboth and the County Department of Public Works will affect
farming and open space in Sussex County for generations. In six months Sussex County
and Rehoboth Beach both face some tough decisions on wastewater planning for the
future. These decisions will affect the citizens who pay for services; will affect the
environment, and will affect environmental policy with regard to the practices for either
disposing, or using and recycling treated water in the future. Most importantly these
decisions will affect the future of farming in Delaware.
Should the municipalities choose to build an ocean outfall, billions of gallons of fresh
water from Sussex County aquifers will be sent out to sea, never to be reclaimed. If the
municipalities choose to reclaim treated wastewater and recycle it back to farmers, then
programs like the private utilities’ irrigation leases will be beneficial to farmers with
large parcels, adjacent to planning areas for central treatment plants. With the cash and
reduced cost benefits from these irrigation leases, farming will become sustainable
around central treatment plants. Lands that are necessary for the reclamation of treated
water will be preserved as open space in perpetuity. The Rehoboth/Sussex County
decision is not just a decision about one town’s future wastewater capacity. It is a
decision about the future policy for wastewater disposal in all of Sussex County for
future generations.
Making the right choice for Delaware farming
Farming is one of the most important industries in the State of Delaware. It is the gross
domestic product that we can all count on, even when the economy is in recession. Why
then would legislators at the State and county level make policy decisions that could
damage the future of farming in Delaware? Sussex County and the City of Rehoboth are
about to make a critical decision that will affect environmental policy for wastewater
disposal. This decision will also affect farming. A decision to construct an ocean outfall
system at Rehoboth Beach affects the future of the town, with possible impacts on the
quality of its ocean beaches and impacts on its tourism dollars that drives the town
economy. The same decision will affect the groundwater in the Inland Bays Watershed,
either depleting this resource or recharging it. The decision on the choice of Rehoboth’s

11. wastewater disposal will affect farming on lands nearby that are dependent upon the same
aquifer for drinking water and irrigation water.
Farmers are already at risk. It is the life that they have chosen. They are accustomed to
the risk and can adapt to change. But why put farming at a greater disadvantage because
of a decision made by a few elected officials who cannot see the future impact from a
simple choice. Ocean outfall will eventually deplete the groundwater table, hurting the
environment and the profitability of farming over time. On the other hand, the simple
choice of choosing a land-based alternative—spray irrigation that takes reclaimed treated
water and recycles it back to farmers is the BETTER CHOICE. The decision must be
based on economics—yes but not just the economics for the rate-payer. The choice must
examine the economics for the farmer. Land based spray irrigation—as demonstrated
above, has positive benefits for the farmer with an irrigation lease near central treatment
plants. The economics for reclamation of treated water also has far-reaching benefits in
the Delaware economy. In a recent interview, Mr. Kenneth Bounds, vice president for
Mid Atlantic Farm Credit analyzed the theoretical 100 acre lease for spray
irrigation. He verified that two things were true: i) that the farmer taking reclaimed
water was making $810/acre based upon the terms of the lease, and that the farmer’s
yield from corn grown on the parcel would increase about 100% as a result of the reliable
reclaimed water.
Mr. Bounds went on further to say that the increased yield also had a 7-times multiplier
impact on the Delaware agriculture sector. Increase yield would increase permanent
farming jobs in the area. Increase yield in feedstock crops would also promote increases
in poultry, transportation, agribusiness, food services and tourism. As a financial analyst
and a banker, Mr. Bounds analyzes such statistics every day. After Mr. Bounds examined
the terms of the irrigation lease and consulted the appropriate statistics, Mr. Bounds has
simply stated, “…Based upon my analysis, the choice of a land based application for
recycling reclaimed water to farmers is THE ONLY RATIONAL CHOICE. It is the right
choice for enhancing the profitability and sustainability of Delaware agriculture…”
Spray Irrigation can play a role in Delaware’s Agricultural Future
• Recharges groundwater
• Prevents saltwater intrusion
• Keeps water in the watershed
• Sustains farming with lower costs and higher yields
• Protects and expands open space
• 7-times multiplier for Delaware Agriculture
• CREATES PERMANENT JOBS
Reclaiming and Recycling Water Benefits the Farmer
• Provides irrigation water directly to the field
• Decreases fuel costs for pumping
• Provides nutrients for crop uptake
• Provides cash from irrigation leases

12. • Reliable continuous supply increases yield
Whether we like it or not change is here. At the most basic level, the way people value
water must change. There are economic, environmental and sociological benefits to the
practice of recycling reclaimed treated water back to Farmers as spray irrigation. Reliable
reclaimed water can help Delaware keep farming.