Years of Leaky Septic Tank Problems Pile up in Lewes Community

LEWES, Del. - There's a lot of finger pointing over who is responsible for the sewage stinking up and running down the streets of the Donovan-Smith Manufactured Home Community off of Savannah Road. Neighbors say their homes are sinking into the ground while their health and safety concerns are rising. 

Property owner Kenneth Burnham in New York referred WRDE to his attorney and said the bank is holding up grant money that could fix the septic system problems. Meanwhile the people who live in the Donovan-Smith community say no one is going to buy their homes like this, so they can't move out even if they want to. 

Lynn and Richard Hoepfl say they moved into the neighborhood about four years ago.

"A year after we were in, our septic tank backed up into our house and flooded our house." Richard says. 

The Hoepfls say the leaky septic system has created pits of sludge that are now growing algae blooms and are bordered by faded caution tape, which neighbors worry won't stop pets or kids from falling in and getting hurt.

"A lot of the tanks in here are metal and collapsing," Lynn says.

When the wind blows, you can smell the odor, especially if you're standing against the wind in the direction that it's blowing. When it rains, neighbors say the sewage runs down the street.

District Three County Councilman Mark Schaeffer says the City of Lewes offered for Burnham to hook the community into the city water.

"He's received a $5 million grant of our taxpayers money to hook this whole mobile home park up into sanitary sewers and he's refusing to cooperate," Schaeffer says. "These people are drinking their own sewage and Secretary Garvin at DNREC, shame on him.

Secretary Garvin says DNREC is working on an underserved communities initiative focused on improving wastewater and drinking water and that connecting the community to Lewes's central sewer system is the first project on the list.

Secretary Garvin says, "We are currently working with Donovan-Smith MHP, LLC., Sussex County, and Lewes BPW to move this initiative forward. The goal is to connect the community to Lewes's central sewer system.  This is not only a very important and significant project to the residents of this community, but also to the future of many other communities throughout the state."

Lynn and Richard say it's been long enough.

"It smells like sewer water if you're washing your clothes because it's coming out of the well," Richard says.

"We do not drink, cook with anything other than bottled water," Lynn says.

WRDE left multiple voice mails for the property owner's attorney and the local managing company and did not hear back.