Sand pumping and dredging done in Rehoboth

A little more than three weeks after Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company set up shop, dredging and sand pumping in Rehoboth has been completed and their equipment has made its way to Dewey.

Steve Rochette, Army Corps of Engineer spokesman, said Dec. 15 the dredging company has been on site for 22 days and work on dune crossovers and stormwater outfalls at Grenoble Place and Maryland Avenue in Rehoboth is ongoing. Dredging and sand pumping in Dewey began Dec. 13 and is expected to be completed in the next 10 to 12 days, he said.

Following a Dec. 14 tour of the dredge Dodge Island, Tony Pratt, administrator of DNREC’s Shoreline and Waterways Management section, said he was pleased with the quality of the sand from the borrow site just off Dewey Beach.

“I’m loving it,” he said. “It’s going to be a good recreational beach, with fine sand.”

The base contract called for 424,000 cubic yards to be pumped, but a number of options were added. The total amount of sand pumped will be 653,000 cubic yards – 384,000 for Rehoboth and 269,000 in Dewey.

Dune fencing for the new sand, at a cost of approximately $110,000, was not one of the options. Pratt said DNREC is still seeking a funding source is still being looked at, and that he would soon know if that option would be included in the project’s final package.

The machines are big, the parts are heavy and the crew doesn’t have bankers hours. This is an inside look at a beach replenishment project.

• The burlap between pipe joints is used to help seal the pipe. The burlap traps the sand and stops the water from leaking at the joint (most of the time).

• Sand ramps allow the public – and heavy equipment – an easy way to cross over the pipe.

• There are two 281-foot-long dredges being used – the Dodge Island and Padre Island. Each holds approximately 3,500 cubic yards of sand, which takes approximately 40 minutes to fill when sand is being sucked in. Each ship has the ability to dump sand like a dump truck, hook up to shore pipe or to “rainbow,” which means spray the sand.

• The dredging operation works 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Chief Mate Eric Dukett said each dredge will make eight trips a day and pump 20,000 cubic yards of sand in a day.

• The dredging operation has the ability to work in conditions up to an 8-foot-sea.

• The shore pipe is 30 inches in diameter. Each piece is approximately 40 feet long and weighs 4,000 pounds. There are 90 pieces of shore pipe on this project.

• The baskets at the end of the shore pipe are designed to screen out any potential munitions or other objects from entering the beach. The dredge also has a screen.

• According to crewman Darryl Nelson the suction power of the dredge head pulling up sand is strong enough to pick up a small Volkwagen. The diameter of the pipe and screens, he said, prevents large objects from making their way onto the vessel.

• Mate Dukett said when the crew is on the boat, they’re working six hours on, six hours off.

• According to site manager Cameron Whitmore, salaried crew work for 14 days and then have off seven days. Shipmen, he said, work three weeks on, then three weeks off.

• Crewman Nelson has been working on the dredge for 29 years. He said there’s no school for the work they do, its all on the job training.

• On the wheel house deck are free weights and other workout equipment.

• If something breaks down, it need to be fixed onboard the boat. There’s a fully functioning machining room below deck.