At least one First State beach is seeing the negative impacts from this winter’s snow and storms.
Beach erosion during a harsh winter is always a concern along Delaware’s coast, and this year is no exception - especially after the most recent storm last month.
According to Dewey Beach Town Manager Bill Zolper, the town lost a little bit of beach - anywhere from three-to-six inches - but it did not reach the dunes.
Zolper says anywhere from three-to-six inches of beach have been lost, but he stresses it is not at the dunes, just the actual beach.
"And that would seem like it doesn't make a difference, but it does, because when we continue to get these nor'easters and these winds that come in slowly erodes the beach and finally gets to the dune and then it erodes the dune," said Zolper.
That cumulative effect of sand loss from storms over time is concerning making the town more susceptible to flooding.
And Zolper says beach replenishment has already been put off.
"We were supposed to have beach replenishment this past year, in either the past fall or right now during the winter session, and the federal government at the time said, no, there's no money for it,” said Zolper. “So they put it on hold, and we hope to get that beach replenishment, or renourishment sometime next year."
Zolper notes the last replenishment was two years ago, and one is needed every two-to-three years, so a replenishment or nourishment project is on schedule.
When Dewey gets that project scheduled, so will Rehoboth Beach.
