Posted on November 3, 2021
SUSSEX COUNTY, Del. – Many on Delaware’s coast are seeing the impacts of Friday’s storms. One local says the storm took more away than the other storms and is concerned for the future of Broadkill Beach.
“You need a parachute to get on to the beach,” said Jim Bailey, the President of the Broadkill Beach Preservation Association.
As he described the aftermath of Friday’s storms on Broadkill beach.
Sand erosion is over 15 feet high, making it difficult for visitors to access the beach. Bailey witnessed Friday’s storms firsthand and said with the high tides the water went nearly as far back as to where we were standing. Adding that a flag pole that was once there is now long gone with the water.
“What we’re hoping is for somehow in the future we can get some mitigation that will help with the erosion and so forth we would hate to see this all go away,” explained Bailey.
DNREC says it is actively working on restoring Delaware bays and beaches.
Jesse Hayden, acting administrator and project engineer (PE), DNREC Shoreline and Waterway Management section told WRDE in a statement that read in part:
“Along the Delaware Bay Beaches, DNREC will evaluate opportunities to restore the main pedestrian dune crossing at the end of Route 16 in Broadkill Beach while monitoring the conditions there throughout the winter so as to plan maintenance on other less-trafficked dune crossovers.”
Bailey says he appreciates the work being done by DNREC and just hopes to preserve the hard work that they’ve done on Broadkill Beach all these years.
And although it was a great fishing day for some the Indian River Inlet was also impacted by storms with dune erosion. Some locals told WRDE off-camera that things looked much worst a few days ago.
DNREC says it’s working to repair the damages.
“The Delaware Seashore State Park beach north of Indian River Inlet experienced dune erosion in the storm that was mitigated by ongoing sand management by DNREC that will continue throughout the winter. ”
DNREC says it is aware it is still in the early days of the winter season that could bring additional storms and beach erosion. But its goal right now is to comprehensively assess the erosion damages across all of the beach communities to prioritize their response.
DNREC’s full statement read:
“The DNREC Shoreline and Waterway Management section strategy following the recent storm is assessing areas that were impacted by erosion and assigning priorities for their repair and restoration. The Delaware Seashore State Park beach north of Indian River Inlet experienced dune erosion in the storm that was mitigated by ongoing sand management by DNREC that will continue throughout the winter. Along the Delaware Bay beaches, DNREC will evaluate opportunities to restore the main pedestrian dune crossing at the end of Route 16 in Broadkill Beach, while monitoring the conditions there throughout the winter so as to plan maintenance on other less-trafficked dune crossovers. In Lewes, we will similarly evaluate opportunities to restore some pedestrian dune crossings, though it is unlikely we will have the ability to address all crossovers immediately. In Lewes, we will also continue to evaluate the location of dune fencing relative to the eroding dune – adjusting its location if necessary.
DNREC’s Shoreline and Waterway Management section makes such evaluations with the foreknowledge that Delaware is in the early days of the 2021-2022 winter storm season that could bring additional storms and beach erosion. But again, our goal right now is to comprehensively assess the erosion damages across all of the beach communities to prioritize our response. We are in the planning stage of a project to potentially haul sand into Pickering Beach, Kitts Hummock, Bowers, Slaughter Beach, and Delaware Seashore State Park to nourish portions of those beaches and the dunes most susceptible to chronic erosion. We are currently evaluating opportunities to adjust the plans for that project in response to the storm erosion that has occurred since the most recent storm.”
