Damaged Pump Station Facade Cleared; Small Sewer Department, Large Area

DEL HAVEN – Anthony Mazzio lives across the street from the Middle Township sewer pump station at Sixth Street and Roosevelt Boulevard in Del Haven. Early in the week of May 22, Mazzio began contacting the municipal sewer department with a report that the ceiling of the pump station enclosure had collapsed. 
For Mazzio, this was part of what he viewed as neglect of the pump station, which he claims is frequently overgrown, seldom mowed, and generally left in an unsightly condition. “The odors are not nice either,” Mazzio added.
Steve Mills, Sewer Department administrator, said the department has made replacing the structure that encloses the pumps a priority, but he also added that the department, with two full-time employees, has to deal with sewer issues across the 72-square mile township.
The Middle Township Sewer Department tore down the damaged facade of the sewer pump station within a week of receiving word of problems with the structure. There was no decision on whether or not a new wooden enclosure would be put in its place since such an enclosure is unnecessary for the pump station. 
Mills added that the collapsed enclosure posed no safety issue.
This pump station in Del Haven is one of 20 across the township connecting to a sprawling sewer system maintained by a small staff.
Mills indicated that the township has two part-time employees in the department who are working to obtain the proper certifications necessary for them to be moved to full-time status.
One problem, an issue Middle Township Committee has openly struggled with, is that municipalities across the county need certified workers. Competition is keen. “They all pay more than we do,” Mills added.
In Del Haven, some residents, Mazzio is one, feel that the area does not get enough attention for its infrastructure needs.
Mazzio pointed to failed attempts to bring municipal water to the area. He added that the area frequently floods due to what he sees as a lack of appropriate drainage systems.
Township committee has wrestled with the issue of finding a cost-effective way to extend a water main to the area. The effort has been there, but the solution remains elusive.
In some ways, the seemingly isolated incident involving the Del Haven pump station highlights the broader challenges facing the township.
Intensifying the issues facing the sewer department is the recent recalibration of the township’s share of the county Municipal Utility Authority (MUA) expenses. 
In 2017, the MUA surprised the township with a much higher fee than Middle has historically paid. The problem, as it has been explained at open meetings of the governing body, stems from growing use, called increasing flow, in the township, coupled with declining use from a number of other municipalities, particularly on the islands.
The result is a larger share of the MUA costs for the township, a situation which necessitated an increase in the commercial sewer rates for 2018.
Adding to the issues is the challenge of growth in the township where the increased tax revenues generated from that growth have to keep pace with infrastructure demands.
In Cape May County, the population peaked in 2000 at a little over 100,000 residents. Using Census Bureau estimates for 2017, the county has seen a decline in a permanent population of nearly 9 percent, while Middle Township’s resident population has grown by over 13 percent.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.