White Creek dredging project underway
Dredging the waters in the Inland Bays is a much-debated topic. Lack of dredging of the channels has led to habitat degradation and navigation issues, especially during times of low tides.
Sussex County Council has entered the effort to get more dredging completed by approving a memorandum of understanding with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control to provide funding for dredging of 18,000 linear feet of White Creek and 2,400 feet of Assawoman Canal in the Bethany Beach-Ocean View area.
Under the memorandum approved Jan. 31, county officials will contribute $1 million from its accommodations tax toward the $4.7 million dredging project.
County Administrator Todd Lawson said the first priority for use of the tax was determined to be dredging. Revenue collected through the tax is earmarked for various projects and programs, such as beach nourishment, waterway dredging, economic development and water quality/flood control. So far, it has generated $1.9 million in revenue to the county.
About the project
White Creek flows south to north into Indian River Bay; it serves several marinas and boat ramps, and connects Assawoman Canal to the bay. It is bordered by the communities of Black Harbor Retreat, Piney Point and Cedar Shores, as well as James Farm Ecological Preserve.
The project, which is scheduled to begin this week, will remove 55,000 to 75,000 cubic yards of material, with the dredged sediments used to restore an area of highly degraded salt marsh at the Assawoman Wildlife Area, known as Muddy Neck. The project must be completed by March 31 due to habitat and wildlife restrictions placed on state waterways.
DNREC staff will monitor the restored wetland area through 2028 as a condition of the permit.
Contractor Resilient Seas LLC will dredge White Creek to 4 feet below mean lower-low water and the Assawoman Canal to 3 feet.
Phase 2 of the Assawoman Canal dredging will begin in fall 2023. Phase 1 includes its confluence with White Creek to the Central Avenue Bridge.
White Creek was dredged in the 1997-2001 time span and Assawoman Canal in the 2010-15 span.
Other dredging projects
Lawson said dredging of Indian River to Millsboro is a high priority on DNREC's list. He said officials informed him state workers will dredge hot spots in fall 2023 and a major dredging project will be bid to restore channels to begin in fall 2024.
Sen. Gerald Hocker, R-Ocean View, and Rep. Ron Gray, R-Selbyville, who represent areas around the Inland Bays, attended the Jan. 31 meeting.
Hocker said he and retired Sen. George Bunting were advocating for dredging two decades ago. “They really haven't done anything in 20 years. We need to continue pushing the state to get it done,” he said. “Dredging is needed desperately to keep our channels open and put our islands back.”
“This is exactly the kind of project that is intended to benefit from the accommodations tax,” said Sussex County Council President Mike Vincent. “Thanks to tourism dollars pumped into our local economy, we can reinvest some of that into projects that benefit the public at large.”
For more information, go to https://dnrec.alpha.delaware.gov/watershed-stewardship/waterways/white-creek-dredging.
About the tax
Enabled by Delaware lawmakers and implemented by the county in 2020, the accommodations tax is a 3% levy assessed on all lodging at hotels, motels and tourist homes within unincorporated portions of the county. It was not collected by the county during the COVID-19 state of emergency.
