Seaford approves sewer impact and tap-fee increases to help pay for $47M wastewater plant expansion
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Summary
Council approved a schedule that raises sewer impact fees and revises tap fees to fund a planned $47 million wastewater treatment plant expansion that increases capacity from 2 million to 3 million gallons; staff estimates per-EDU impact costs and projected county revenue increases under the new rates.
Seaford City Council on Nov. 11 approved revised sewer impact fees and an amended fee-and-rate schedule intended to fund debt service for a planned $47 million wastewater treatment plant expansion.
Director of Public Works Burley Mears presented the scope: an expansion from a 2,000,000-gallon to a 3,000,000-gallon facility (an increase of about 1,550,000 gallons, roughly 6,200 equivalent dwelling units by the calculation used). Mears described the capital allocation calculations that produced a per-EDU share of about $3,721.45 and said the proposal would raise the sewer impact fee from the current $1,400 to roughly $3,700 (a net increase of about $2,321). Mears also proposed aligning sewer tap fees with water tap fees ($1,025) and shifting $625 from the tap side to the impact side; the resulting combined tap-plus-impact proposal totaled $5,371 compared with a current combined charge of $3,050.
Mears walked council through downstream sewer-assessment fees for county flows (lift-station and interceptor charges) and showed a 2024 comparison of county quarterly receipts: at current rates the city received about $603,000 in county-related impact fees; under the proposed rates that figure would have been about $1,550,000 using 2024 volumes, a notional increase of about $954,000. Mears cautioned that 2025 quarterly numbers were lower and that actual revenue will vary with permit activity and county flows.
Councilman McCall moved to approve the increased sewer impact fees to address the additional debt service for the wastewater expansion, effective July 1, 2026; a council member seconded and the motion passed by voice vote. Council later approved the broader fee-and-rate schedule reflecting the same changes and staff said the amendments would be effective 07/01/2026 to give notice to developers and the county.
What's next: The new fee schedule will be posted and used for developer notifications; staff will incorporate revised fee revenue estimates into capital planning and debt-service models as the project proceeds through design and permitting.