With Delaware Bay Beach Nourishment Projects Complete, DNREC Now Works Toward Restoring Atlantic Coastline

DNREC’s completed Bay beach nourishment project in Pickering Beach, showing a wide beach berm and newly planted beach grass. /DNREC photo

 

Recovery from the Recent Nor’easter to Continue Into Fall

Having recently completed beach nourishment projects in five Delaware Bay beach communities, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control today begins the next phase of restoring parts of Delaware’s coastline, including the beaches that experienced widespread erosion and damage from a May nor’easter.

“Our Shoreline team will be hard at it for the foreseeable future on beach restoration priorities that this storm handed us,” said DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin. “While restoring the beaches will not be instant nor easy, we are confident of surmounting the challenge ahead. We’re working on making the state’s beaches accessible and in shape for the summer. Of course, we also welcome the communities’ help in restoring the beaches just as they – and we – value our federal partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers when expected beach nourishment projects begin in a number of these communities as early as next fall.”

“The damage done to our beaches by the recent nor’easter makes clear that robust federal, state and local partnerships are needed now more than ever,” said U.S. Senator Tom Carper, chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. “I have been fighting to give one of our key federal partners in this effort — the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — several new beach restoration tools in the 2022 Water Resources Development Act legislation. Among the provisions in the bill are: emergency authority to allow the Corps to help restore beaches in the aftermath of storms; a requirement that the federal government pay 90% of the costs of the Bay Beach nourishment project; and a reorientation of the Corps’ civil works program to proactively address climate change and streamline the implementation of shoreline protection and restoration projects. The state of Delaware should be able to count on the support of the Corps and other federal agencies to help restore our beaches and make sure our communities are protected.”

DNREC recently completed beach nourishment project in the Pickering Beach, Kitts Hummock, Bowers, South Bowers, and Slaughter Beach communities. This project used approximately 52,650 cubic yards of sand – enough to fill almost 11 Olympic-sized swimming pools. The next restoration phase spans the majority of the state’s coastline and will require DNREC to partner with the Army Corps of Engineers and affected communities to restore the coastline.

Storm erosion and dune fence damage in Rehoboth Beach from the recent nor’easter storm. /DNREC photo
Storm erosion and dune fence damage in Rehoboth Beach from the recent nor’easter storm. /DNREC photo

“The long duration of the storm and the post-storm wind direction mean we may not see a rapid natural rebuilding of the beach,” said DNREC Shoreline and Waterway Section administrator Jesse Hayden. “The dunes did their job protecting our communities from being inundated, but by absorbing the impact of the storm they suffered damage that affects people’s ability to access the beach. Our immediate goal is restore as much safe beach access in as many communities as possible so that beachgoers can enjoy a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day weekend. Our partners are a big part of that.”

DNREC’s post-storm work is set to begin this week in South Bethany, the community worst hit by the storm, and restoration work will then move south to north. At each juncture, DNREC will clean up debris such as smashed dune fencing and will re-grade numerous access crossings. DNREC also is working on a nourishment project north of the Indian River Inlet which lost significant sand from the dune critical to protecting the roadway and the Indian River Inlet Bridge.

“The first pass made by our team will focus on cleanup and restoring access,” Hayden said. “When that work is done, we will begin repairing the damaged dune fence.” Both post and rope and wooden dune fence do the job of keeping people off the sensitive dune. But where wooden dune fence can trap wind-blown sand at its base, a post and rope system allows a more natural exchange where vegetation covering the dune can trap wind-blown sand over a wider area. DNREC uses both types, depending on the management needs in each area.

DNREC’s beach nourishment projects introduce sand into the shoreline system to offset the effects of erosion. The beach and dune are an important natural line of defense between the ocean or bay and inland public and private infrastructure, including houses and roads. Both the Delaware Bay and Atlantic beaches and dunes also provide crucial habitat for migrating shorebirds, including several threatened species, and other wildlife, such as spawning horseshoe crabs – which, under ordinary circumstances, means beach nourishment projects must be completed by April 15 or by March 1 at some beaches, with beach nourishment not permitted again until Oct. 1.

However, after Pickering Beach was impacted by a nor’easter on April 18, the Shoreline and Waterway Management Section requested and received approval from DNREC’s Division of Fish and Wildlife to replace sand that had washed onto the road there back onto the beach. The sand was then reshaped into a dune at Pickering. The other Bay beach communities experienced some erosion of newly placed beach and dune sand, but none of the towns where the nourishment was made experienced overtopping of the dune from the most recent nor’easter.

Several bay beach communities experienced minor impacts from the more recent nor’easter that caused widespread erosion on the both coasts – some of the truck-hauled sand from that project was moved around and lost because of the storm. But the winter beach nourishment at South Bowers, Bowers, Kitts Hummock, Pickering Beach and Slaughter Beach largely held its ground and worked to protect the communities in the face of high tides and winds. Future nourishment is planned along both the Atlantic Ocean and Delaware Bay coastlines. Along the Atlantic Ocean, large scale nourishment projects in partnership with the Corps of Engineers will include Rehoboth Beach, Dewey Beach, Bethany Beach, South Bethany, and Fenwick Island. Along Delaware Bay, DNREC will perform small-scale nourishment to further fortify the most vulnerable sections of shoreline.

More information about the work of the DNREC Shoreline and Waterway Management Section can be found at de.gov/shoreline. More information on beach nourishment in Delaware available from Outdoor Delaware, de.gov/outdoordelaware.

About DNREC
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities and educates Delawareans about the environment. The DNREC Division of Watershed Stewardship develops and implements innovative watershed assessment, monitoring and implementation activities. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media Contacts: Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov; Nikki Lavoie, nikki.lavoie@delaware.gov


Rehoboth Beach nourishment project to begin under direction of DNREC, US Army Corps of Engineers

REHOBOTH BEACH – The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control announced today that a beach nourishment project for the City of Rehoboth Beach partnering DNREC’s Shoreline & Waterway Management Section with the US Army Corps of Engineers expects to begin pumping sand this week along the north end of Rehoboth Beach.

Sand pumping operations by the project contractor Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company will coincide with planned temporary closures of sections of the beach to ensure public safety. The first closure area is near the Deauville Beach parking lot. Work on the beach nourishment project will continue south to Rehoboth Avenue in Rehoboth Beach before moving to Dewey Beach for a second nourishment project teaming DNREC and the Corps of Engineers.

The Oak Brook, Ill.-based Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company is operating on a contract managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which provided 65 percent of the project’s $7.2 million in funding. DNREC, as the non-federal partner for the project, provided 35 percent of the funds required for completing the nourishment project.

Contractor personnel have been moving equipment to the site during ongoing preparatory work the past few weeks. Rehoboth Beach’s beach closure areas will move south along with construction activity. Estimated completion for the nourishment project is 20 days in Rehoboth Beach followed by 25 days in Dewey Beach.

DNREC staff work closely with the Corps of Engineers on project oversight, participating in weekly project progress meetings, acting as liaison between the Corps and the municipalities where is occurring, and participate in inspections and acceptance of the project components upon completion.

For more information and questions about the project, please call Steve Rochette of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Philadelphia District at 215-656-6515.

Media contact: Beth Shockley, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

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DNREC Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police assist in search for missing windsurfer who was found safe on shore

DOVER – DNREC Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police officers responded to a report from Dewey Beach seasonal police officers of an overdue windsurfer who went missing on Rehoboth Bay Thursday evening after embarking from Towers Road Bayside in Dewey Beach. The uninjured missing male windsurfer was located at 7:45 a.m. today at Bay City off Long Neck, and was subsequently transported to his vehicle by Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police officers.

The windsurfer, who was outfitted with required safety equipment including a lifejacket and whistle, indicated to Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police that the sail disconnected from his board and could not be reset, and that his whistle was unheard while he was on the water, resulting in him floating for about six hours from his starting location to Bay City, where he was able to safely reach shore.

Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police officers were part of the search team consisting of the Dewey Beach Police Department, Delaware State Police, Delaware State Police Aviation, USCG Station Indian River, and USCG Aviation.

Windsurfers (also known as sailboarders) and kiteboarders are reminded that they must have a life jacket and a sound-producing device, such as a whistle or horn, when underway. Additional safety tips for board sports include informing someone of your expected course and when you expect to return; not straying too far from shore; wearing a wetsuit to avoid hypothermia; looking out for and avoiding other vessels and their wakes; and staying aware that your sail can block your view of other vessels.

Contact: Sgt. Brooke Mitchell, Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police, 302-739-9086 or 302-354-1386

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