Seaford resident urges pause on Nylon Boulevard test well, proposes west-side alternatives

Dan Cannon, a Seaford resident, told the Mayor and Council Tuesday he was asking the body to pause test-well drilling and future siting of a large water treatment facility near the intersection of Nylon Boulevard and Poplar Street and to evaluate city-owned sites on the west side of Hooper’s Landing Golf Course instead.

Cannon said the location had been discussed with city staff at least two years earlier but he and his wife discovered test-well drilling equipment on their property without prior notice. He said he and other neighbors had not been given details on how and why the Nylon Boulevard site was chosen for a test well and for a possible future treatment facility.

"We have no objection to water wells. We do have objection to a large water-treatment facility plant," Cannon said, adding that the Nylon Boulevard site is small, abuts the golf course and residential properties, and would likely generate truck traffic on neighborhood streets. He urged the council to pause the current plan, evaluate two larger city-owned parcels along Sussex Avenue (which he labeled Site A and Site B) and direct staff to test a west-side site. Cannon said those sites are larger, better suited for future expansion and would avoid impacts to the golf course or nearby residences. He also offered to subsidize verified, reasonable expenses for evaluation of an alternate site.

Why it matters Cannon's remarks raise neighborhood concerns about siting, notice and the potential long-term footprint of a water-treatment facility. The council did not take formal action on the request at Tuesday's meeting; his comments were made during the public-comment portion of the agenda.

What the record shows - Cannon said engineer Chris Derbyshire of GMB and City Manager Anderson had previously discussed a potential new well near Nylon Boulevard and North Poplar Street; he cited photographs he provided to the council. - Cannon described the proposed treatment-plant site near the golf course as a "very limited space" that he said was incompatible with future expansion and would place industrial activity adjacent to recreation and residences. - He identified two city-owned locations on the west side of Hooper's Landing, along Sussex Avenue (referred to in his remarks as Site A and Site B), as having larger footprints and fewer adjacent homes; he described Site B as near the current Gulf maintenance sheds. - Cannon requested that the council pause current plans for the Nylon Boulevard site, evaluate the west-side sites for test drilling and said he would subsidize reasonable evaluation costs if the city pursued that direction.

What the council said City staff did not make a formal presentation or respond with a firm commitment during Cannon’s public comment. The mayor acknowledged his remarks and moved on to the next public-comment speaker. No formal motion or directive to staff regarding the well siting was recorded in the meeting minutes or the public portion of the transcript for Feb. 25.

Clarifying detail (from transcript) - Cannon said test-well equipment was observed on his wife Susan's front yard and submitted photographs to the council; he dates earlier staff comments about likely well location to a meeting on Jan. 10 (year cited in his remarks as 2003 but context indicates he referred to a meeting two years earlier).

Ending Cannon asked the council to inform him of its intentions as soon as possible so he and other neighbors could continue to evaluate options; the transcript records no formal council action or public-works response during the meeting. The issue may reappear on a future agenda if council directs staff to evaluate alternate well sites or if staff brings a formal site-selection recommendation to the council.