Dewey Beach’s Resiliency and Sustainability Committee is reviewing and updating the town’s comprehensive plan, which was last updated in 2018.
Dewey Beach Town Manager Bill Zolper says a large portion of the flooding issues the community faces is from their Rehoboth Bay shoreline.
“What they’re proposing is possibly getting an engineer firm in to do a study of Dewey Beach from the bay side. And, look at what the town could do to mitigate some of the flooding from the bay. They want to use some of that information from that study, possibly, for the comp plan.” he said.
Zolper notes money is a barrier to addressing these issues. Dewey Beach’s tax revenue is limited due to its lack of a property tax, leaving parking fees its prime source of income for town funded initiatives.
"Dewey Beach doesn’t have a property tax, so when we talk about funding an engineering study, and then a project based on that engineering study, we are very limited on the funds. We are very lucky to get support from Senator Coons’ office, for the million dollar grant for that pump station, but when it comes to actually funding these projects, the town doesn’t really have a tax base to go to."
The town also receives state and federal aid for beach replenishment every two years, but Zolper notes aid scheduled for this winter was pushed back a year due to funding freezes.
Zolper says that how the city spends it's money is all the more important considering these two factors,
"We have to be very meticulous with how we spend our money to address the money" he said. "That being said, the flooding must be addressed."
He says that the town has thus far worked "very well" with the federal government, the state, and the county, noting that DelDOT has been a particularly common partner when flooding stretches over Route 1.
DNREC’s beach replenishment for both Dewey and Rehoboth Beaches is now expected in the winter 2027.
