Two stormwater outfalls being fixed in Rehoboth Beach

As part of the ongoing beach replenishment project in Rehoboth Beach, two stormwater outfalls damaged during the Mother’s Day storm of 2022 are being repaired.

City Manager Laurence Christian announced the work on the stormwater pipes during a commissioner workshop May 8. A large crane was moved in over the weekend for the work and Christian explained why it was there. He said the expectation is that the work will begin by the end of the week.

Rehoboth has five stormwater outfalls emptying into the ocean – Virginia, Maryland, Rehoboth and Delaware avenues, and Laurel Street.

In an interview May 9, Public Works Director Kevin Williams said the work is included as part of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ $23.8 million contract with New Jersey-based Weeks Marine for beach replenishment projects in Delaware. Before the work can start on those pipes, the crew performing the beach replenishment portion on the north end has to finish its work, he said.

Williams said the pipes at these two locations were cut short last year after the storm left them hanging. The other three stormwater outfalls have all been inspected, had bolts tightened and are in good shape, he said.

This is the second time in the past decade the pipes at Maryland and Virginia have been worked on. In early 2017, as part of another beach replenishment project, 108 feet of 30-inch pipe was added to the Virginia Avenue pipe and 54 feet of 36-inch pipe was added to the Maryland Avenue pipe.

The scope of the project in Rehoboth runs from about the Deauville Beach tennis courts south to Delaware Avenue. A pipe connecting the contractor’s dredge to the shore has been on the beach between Olive and Virginia avenues for weeks. As part of his update, Christian said work to the north is expected to be done any day, at which point the operation will flip south and hopefully be done in Rehoboth by May 20.