Residents of the Mallard Lakes condominium community told the Sussex County Council on July 15 that repeated tidal flooding has turned yards to mud and threatens property values and flood insurance availability, and they asked the county to budget money now for engineering work so federal funding can be secured.

“During Hurricane Sandy our community had some of the worst flooding in Delaware,” homeowner Simone Reba told the council during the meeting’s public-comment period. “FEMA threatened to pull flood insurance for all of this county, which would devastate property values and the local economy.”

Reba and other speakers said Mallard Lakes is a 477-unit condominium near Fenwick Island and that several buildings likely need elevation. Reba said a civil-engineering feasibility study with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers could cost “about $100,000 to a million dollars,” and that the Corps’ Continuing Authorities Program 205 could provide funding if a nonfederal sponsor supplies a 50% cost share for the study and a 35% share for construction.

“Waiting another 10 to 15 years our lake’s vulnerable while federal funding dwindles,” Reba told the council, and she asked that if an inland-bay Corps study stalls the county instead budget about $500,000 in the 2027 capital plan to pay the required nonfederal match for a Section 205 study focused on Mallard Lakes.

Homeowners provided personal accounts of long-term change: Jacqueline “Jackie” Henry described buying a unit in 1990 and said that what was once a “little piece of heaven” has become soggy lawn and “a source of worry.” Bruce Henry said the community skews toward senior citizens and warned of cascading impacts if flood insurance is withdrawn: falling property values, cancellations of policies and potential displacement.

Council members present did not take action during the public-comment period. County Administrator Todd Lawson acknowledged the options described by residents and confirmed federal programs and cost-share rules were correctly described, and he said county staff will review funding options and timing as part of budget planning.

Why this matters: Mallard Lakes residents say they face an immediate risk to homes and local economic impacts if flood insurance eligibility changes; the next step they requested is county help to secure the nonfederal funding necessary to access Army Corps programs for study and construction.

The residents’ request was a public-comment appeal, not a formal county directive. The council did not adopt funding at the July 15 meeting; residents asked staff and council to consider the matter during budget cycles and to prioritize a feasibility study if the broader Corps inland-bay study does not advance quickly enough.