It’s great news that the Delaware Bay beaches received nearly $32 million in federal funds toward a $140 million project to nourish and restore nearly 30 miles of shoreline. That brings the total to $58 million over the past two years.
While funding for replenishing resort beaches along the Atlantic Ocean coastline has been plentiful, the bay beaches have been ignored for decades.
Spearheading this allocation of federal funds has been U.S. Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.). It doesn’t hurt that he is chairman of the Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee.
Last year, he was able to garner $26 million from the Water Resource Development Act, which also allows the Army Corps of Engineers to respond quickly to beach projects.
Over time, unprotected bay beach towns have had to endure flooding and damage as storms decimate the shoreline. The towns are also feeling the impact of sea-level rise.
It’s taken some champions who have stepped up to raise awareness about the problems of the bay beaches. The formation of the Delaware Bay Beach Association and the Association of Coastal Towns have been instrumental in providing a united front from officials from all beach towns.
Champions like Bay Beach Association President Kathy Lock, former Lewes Mayor Ted Becker, Tony Pratt, a longtime Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control administrator, and Slaughter Beach Mayor Bob Woods have led the effort to gain funding to save the bay beaches.
The project includes Pickering Beach and Kitts Hummock in Kent County, and Slaughter Beach, Bowers, South Bowers, Prime Hook Beach and Lewes Beach in Sussex County.
Broadkill Beach, which is a private beach, already has a beach-dune restoration project in place.
Mitigation projects in the past, including beach plantings and beach fencing, have not been successful. A DNREC project in 2021 provided stopgap measures with trucked-in sand along the most degraded beaches.
The recent funds require a 10% match from the state. The nearly $3.2 million match is a large number, but we urge our local legislators to secure the funding to ensure the future of our bay beaches.
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Editorials are considered and written by Cape Gazette Editorial Board members, including Publisher Chris Rausch, Editor Jen Ellingsworth, News Editor Nick Roth and reporters Ron MacArthur and Chris Flood.
