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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DOVER – DNREC’s Shoreline and Waterway Management Section within the Division of Watershed Stewardship will begin beach replenishment work in early February, pending permit approvals, for the Delaware Bay communities of Pickering Beach, Kitts Hummock, and Bowers Beach, DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin announced today.

Replenishment, which is expected to be completed in May, will consist of truck-hauled fill projects managed by DNREC. Bayshore beaches in the three communities were chosen for winter replenishment after experiencing significant loss of sand this year due to erosion from Delaware Bay tides and waves.

The replenishment projects will funded in part by $300,000 in Community Transportation Funding (CTF) provided by Delaware legislators Senator Colin Bonini and Representatives Andria Bennett and Charles Postles, each of whom directed $100,000 in CTF money for the replenishment projects.

“This is a timely bipartisan response by the legislators and a state agency to address the environmental and economic concerns of Delawareans and Delaware communities, who are experiencing beach erosion impacts related in part to sea level rise,” Governor John Carney said. “DNREC’s replenishment work will ensure that their concerns are eased, and that our environment and coastal economy are made more resilient.”

Beaches and dunes in Pickering Beach, Kitts Hummock, and Bowers Beach were given priority for replenishment based upon ongoing monitoring by the Shoreline & Waterway Management Section. Beaches and dunes in all three communities will be repaired and restored using sand trucked in from an inland source.

“DNREC’s shoreline management section charts the most vulnerable coastal areas for infrastructure impacts, and the three communities that are to receive replenishment this winter checked all the boxes in our monitoring process,” said DNREC Secretary Garvin. “DNREC expects that our work ahead will benefit from efficiencies gained during previous replenishment projects we provided for these same communities.”

Past beach and dune repair work in the three communities includes similar truck-hauled beach fill projects in Kitts Hummock in 2010, 2012, and 2014; Bowers Beach in 2009, 2012, and 2018; and Pickering Beach was last replenished in 2001 using a hydraulic dredge.

Beach fill projects introduce clean sand into the shoreline system to offset the effects of erosion. The beach and dune are an important line of defense between the Delaware Bay and inland public and private infrastructure, including houses, roads, and sewer pipes. The Delaware Bay beaches and dunes also provide valuable habitat to an array of plants and animals.

For more information about the work of the Shoreline and Waterway Management Section, please visit the DNREC website.

Media contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 49, No. 2

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DOVER – DNREC’s Shoreline & Waterway Management Section within the Division of Watershed Stewardship will hold an informational open house Monday, Sept. 17 to discuss the upcoming Massey’s Ditch maintenance dredging project. The public meeting will be held from 6 – 7:30 p.m. at the South Coastal Library, 43 Kent Avenue, Bethany Beach, DE 19930.

Topics for discussion will be current shoaling issues at Massey’s Ditch and the need for maintenance dredging; the beneficial reuse of the dredged material for beach nourishment on the north side of Indian River Inlet, and a general overview of sediment management in the Indian River Inlet system. Interested parties are encouraged to attend the open house to share ideas and comments on the maintenance dredging project, as well as to ask questions of DNREC’s Shoreline & Waterway Management Section staff about these important topics.

The Massey’s Ditch maintenance dredging project is anticipated to start in late fall or early winter.

For more information, please call the Division of Watershed Stewardship, 302-739-9921.

Vol. 48, No. 229