A pilot project putting cameras at locations in Lewes wrapped up at the end of last month, but the scientist managing it says there’s much more work to be done.
Robin Mattheus is a senior scientist at the Delaware Geological Survey. At a meeting of the Lewes Economic, Environment and Resiliency Commission, he explained that the cameras are looking at how sand moves and reshapes coastal areas.
“We want to document the processes that are shaping our coastlines - different wave events, different currents, wind events,” he said. “We want to get as many eyes on those processes as we can from different vantage points to learn what is going on.”
The cameras in the Lewes area are part of a larger network, stretching along much of the state’s coastline.
“There's five in the Lewis area, but this endeavor is a regional thing,” Mattheus explained. “We're looking to understand shoreline development and evolution more holistically.”
Even though the pilot project ended on April 30, Mattheus is asking for permission for his work to continue. That’s likely an easy decision for the city, because participation costs Lewes nothing. Mattheus noted that his work continues to have institutional support.
“The Delaware Geological Survey and DNREC see this as something to be maintained,” he said. He added that the project was getting a new batch of cameras to add and that he has a list of volunteers to have cameras on their property.
Members of the Economic, Environment and Resiliency Commission had some questions, however. One concern revolved around privacy, especially as beaches begin to fill up in the summer months. Deputy Mayor Khalil Saliba, who chairs the commission acknowledged that that was an issue which would need to be addressed before the city agrees to continue the partnership.
Tim Cooper, Deputy Director of Public Safety-Emergency Management for Sussex County was at the meeting to speak on a different matter. He asked Mattheus if data from the cameras could be made available to law enforcement if needed. Mattheus replied that the goal was to have the data, including from the cameras, publicly available.
Noting that, in the past, DNREC has floated the idea of beach replenishment costs being shared between the state and municipalities, commission member Rich Innes wondered if the data from the project could lead to more efficient replenishment processes in the future. That could be possible, Mattheus said but not immediately. There was still a lot of data to gather, he said, beginning with fine-tuning the placement of the cameras themselves.
“We do want to provide a blueprint for what's possible so we can re-engage in discussion and determine which cameras are useful for long-term monitoring and which cameras can be repositioned, taken down, put up elsewhere,” he said.
Discussions on extending the agreement between Lewes and the Delaware Geological Survey are expected to continue in the coming weeks.
