Posted on September 30, 2026
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DELAWARE – A major beach nourishment project planned for four Delaware Bay communities is being pushed back until fall 2027, leaving residents to face another year before large-scale sand replenishment with dredged materials can begin.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control say the project cannot move forward this fall or winter because not all of the necessary property easements have been secured.
The project includes Pickering Beach, Kitts Hummock, Bowers Beach and Slaughter Beach.
As of September 25, 109 of the 164 required permanent easements had been secured across the four communities.
In Bowers Beach, however, only five of the 27 required easements had been signed by the deadline.
Property owners raise concerns
Bowers Beach Mayor Ada Puzzo says the issue is not a lack of support for replenishing the beach. Instead, some property owners have concerns about where the proposed easement lines would fall on their properties.
Puzzo says existing agreements already establish areas for public beach access. But as dunes have eroded, the proposed permanent easement for the new nourishment project would move that line closer to homes — and give the public access to that land.
“There’s already a place where the public has access. And so now, because the dune wasn’t maintained, they need that line to move closer to people’s homes,” Puzzo said. “In a couple of cases at my town, it actually goes around the person’s deck.”
Puzzo says she believes changes to certain sections of the easement language could make property owners more comfortable signing the agreements and potentially help move the project forward.
The town itself is not a party to the easements. Puzzo emphasized that the agreements are between DNREC and individual property owners.
Recent storms highlight erosion concerns
The delay comes as residents in both Bowers Beach and Slaughter Beach continue to see the effects of coastal erosion.
In Bowers Beach, beachfront property owner Alex Hionis said the recent nor’easter destroyed part of a walkway and left a steep drop-off near his home.
“It literally took our walkway down,” Hionis said.
He said accessing the beach is now difficult and dangerous.
Hionis supports the nourishment project and says the need for additional sand is becoming increasingly urgent.
“Four houses down the ocean. Next storm, it’s coming in their living room,” he said.
In Slaughter Beach, some beachfront residents who already signed their easements said they were disappointed to learn the project had been delayed.
Residents there say it has been more than 20 years since the beach received a full sand replenishment. Portions of the southern dunes also experienced erosion during the recent nor’easter.
Why the project can’t simply move forward one community at a time
Officials say the Bay Beach Nourishment Project cannot easily be divided between the communities because of the cost of mobilizing and demobilizing the large dredging equipment needed for the work.
The project also has to be completed within an environmental window designed to protect horseshoe crabs and shorebirds. Beach nourishment generally cannot take place between April 15 and September 15.
DNREC and the Army Corps now say they are targeting a fall 2027 construction start.
To stay on that schedule, officials say all necessary easements must be secured in time for the Army Corps to solicit bids by March 2027.
Limited sand planned this winter
While the larger project waits, DNREC plans to provide some interim protection.
The agency says limited amounts of sand will be trucked into Pickering Beach and Kitts Hummock between October and January to provide additional coastal storm protection during the 2026-27 winter season.
Bowers Beach is also exploring its own options for keeping sand on the beach. The town is working with engineers on a feasibility study examining potential ways to reduce the amount of sand lost during storms.
For residents in Bowers and Slaughter beaches, however, the larger nourishment project remains the long-term solution they say they need — if officials and property owners can reach an agreement on the easements.
