DELAWARE — Everyone who lives in Delaware, especially those who have lived here for longer than 10 years, knows that the city’s growth is unprecedented.
Delaware’s population is nearing 45,000, based on city estimates, meaning since 2000, the city’s population has almost doubled in size.
The city’s approximately 310,000 total square feet of ground floor commercial space in downtown is 94 percent occupied, showing that businesses want to plant their roots in Delaware.
And beyond the downtown scene, multi-family apartment complexes have flooded the market to accommodate for demand, including:
- The Woodland Lake project, which will build a 240-unit, three-story apartment complex located just south of U.S. Route 36/State Route 37 near Interstate 71. This project will sit alongside a 211-unit, one-story multi-family community developed by Wilcox Communities.
- Coughlin’s Crossing will add multi-family residential development with a maximum of 450 units near the existing Mill 23 units.
- “Sawmill Towns” is a recently-approved townhome development along Sawmill Parkway that will eventually include more than 200 single-family homes and 500 townhomes.
With all the new residents and visitors coming to explore downtown, can the city’s sewer system handle the increased usage?
The wastewater treatment plant operates under capacity
The short answer: yes, the wastewater treatment plant can handle the growth.
“We really do have capacity for some amount of growth,” Delaware Public Utilities Director Emily Meek said.
She said capacity operates under a 10-20-30 model. Under normal circumstances, the plant can intake 10 million gallons of wastewater per day.
The plant can hold 20 million gallons per day for a 24-hour period without having issues and, in an even shorter time frame, the plant can hold 30 million gallons, but Meek did not know the exact hours.
“Plants are pretty flexible. You can take water, hold it and be flexible,” Meek said.
On average, the plant takes in five million gallons a day.
“So, we’re at about 50% of what we’re designed to handle,” Meek said.
In 2008, average daily intake was 4 million gallons per day, Meek said, meaning in an 18-year period, intake has only gone up roughly 1 million gallons per day.
She said the biggest spikes in intake are during the springtime due to increased rainfall, but otherwise there is not a lot of variation. She did note there is a slight peak during the week of the county fair.
The city is positioned for future growth
The plant, located at 225 Cherry St., last saw an upgrade in 2007, when the utilities department expanded to add additional primary treatment, larger connection lines and a covered basin.
The city purchased nearby land in 2002 that has sat vacant for future plant expansion, but there are no plans to expand anytime soon, Meek said.
National Environmental Protection Agency guidance recommends a city start designing expansion plans when a plant’s daily intake is at 80 percent, and that expansion be under construction at 95 percent of capacity, Meek said.
“We’re positioned well for that [growth] in a lot of ways. It’s something we can tackle when it gets here, but none of the current growth scares us,” Meek said.
