By Ryan Mavity | Aug 12, 2014

Rehoboth Beach Save Our Lakes Alliance3 will ring in its 10th anniversary with a celebration Saturday, Aug. 16.

For founder Sallie Forman, the 10th anniversary was a chance to look back and ahead.

Looking back at the highlights of our accomplishments, we thought, Wow, weve done a lot, she said. Theres a lot more to be done.

SOLA3, with the three referring to Rehoboths three lakes Lake Gerar, Silver Lake and Lake Comegys was a case of citizen activism in action. In 2004, Forman, who lives at Lake Comegys, banded with other homeowners to protest three townhouses being built right on the edge of the lake.

We didnt think that was a good thing, she said.

After failing to make much headway with the developers, the community organized to help manage the lakes.

First up was Lake Gerar, which was in bad shape, she said, plagued by pollution and algae blooms. Working with city officials and Envirotech, SOLA3 helped secure a state grant to restore the shoreline with a natural vegetative buffer and install aerators.

Next, SOLA3 moved on to Lake Comegys, where the group lobbied Delaware Department of Transportation to convert an old DelDOT right-of-way into a conservation easement, giving all properties along Lake Comegys a setback from the lake.

Perhaps SOLA3's most important success, Forman said, was that state officials, under the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, have acknowledged ownership of Silver Lake. Forman said SOLA3 pushed hard to resolve the issue of who owns Silver Lake, which for years had been split between Rehoboth Beach, Dewey Beach and Sussex County. Using a 1978 public lands survey researched and presented by SOLA3 attorney Gene Lawson, DNREC acknowledged in February 2013 that it owned Silver Lake up to the shoreline.

Read the rest here:
SOLA3 celebrates its 10th anniversary

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