Milton’s Federal Street well project to start in May
The first half of a $1.6 million well and water treatment plant project on town-owned land at Federal Street is set to get underway in May.
Town Manager Kristy Rogers said the town has received its water allocation to tap a new well from Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, and mobilization on the project is expected to begin next month. The work is for a water-production well on a 4.5-acre parcel near the intersection of Federal and Park streets.
The town has not yet put out requests for bids for the second half of the project, building a new treatment plant.
Town funding for the project was granted through the federal American Rescue Plan Act. The Federal Street project has been identified as a priority by the town’s water committee, and officials have been working on it for several years. Use of ARPA funds is limited, with possible uses including water infrastructure, revenue recovery, broadband, housing or sewer projects.
The land at 416 Federal St. was purchased in December 2019 with water infrastructure in mind. Besides the well and treatment plant, the site is also slated to have a new water tower; in January, town voters approved borrowing $3.8 million from the state to build the new tower.
Town receives grant for new public works study
Rogers said the town has also received a $2 million federal grant for planning a new public works facility on Sam Lucas Road.
The grant will be used toward planning changes and phasing of the proposed $6.4 million project. The town has already completed site work and is expected to apply for additional federal funding in 2025.
The town has been trying to construct a new public works building on a 10-acre parcel on Sam Lucas Road for years. The current proposal is for a facility with two buildings, one that would serve as office and meeting space, and another for equipment and materials storage. Town officials have said the public works headquarters needs to be moved because the department has outgrown its current facility on Front Street and has increased storage needs.
The land for a new public works facility was acquired in 2018 when Loblolly LLC gave the town 10 acres of an 80-acre tract of farmland it owns. The original deal was that 5 of those 10 acres would be used for a new wastewater treatment plant and the other 5 acres would be given to the town for a then-unspecified use.
Since then, Artesian Wastewater has purchased Tidewater Utilities, the town’s wastewater provider since 2007, and is planning to build a new plant at its Sussex Regional Recharge Facility on Route 30. Artesian has expressed its intent to pump Milton’s wastewater to that plant. As part of a negotiated settlement with Artesian related to that Tidewater purchase, the land originally slated for Tidewater’s plant will revert back to the town, and Artesian will provide sewer service to the new public works building free of charge.
While the town has the Sam Lucas Road land, town officials do not plan to put any other administrative functions on that site, such as a new town hall or a new police station.
