Ocean takes back Rehoboth sand

Barely a month after sand was pumped onto Rehoboth Beach, high surf from a Jan. 23 storm washed some of it away, although no serious damage has been reported.

City spokeswoman Krys Johnson said Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control is assessing the beach, and city crews are removing sand from the Boardwalk and cleaning up tree limbs and branches. She said flooding was minimal, and no reported damage.

Tony Pratt of DNREC’s Division of Watershed Stewardship said department crews have not yet surveyed the damage, but less sand was lost than last year, when the beaches were hit by a major nor’easter. He said the dunes held up well, and cliff-like beach damage should heal itself naturally. Pratt said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers may get a survey crew out to see how much sand was lost, but that has not yet occurred.

“This was a moderate nor’easter,” he said.

The north end of the beach, from the Henlopen Hotel to Grenoble Place, is often hit hard by storms. During last year’s nor’easter, wave action from high surf eroded the beach and damaged the understructure of the Boardwalk. The city commissioners recently approved a $256,000 bid by contractor Mumford and Miller to repair the damaged sections.

The beach was renourished in December in a $11.2 million project that pumped 653,000 cubic yards of sand on Rehoboth and Dewey beaches - 384,000 for Rehoboth and 269,000 for Dewey. This was periodic beach renourishment, which typically occurs every three years and is funded 65 percent by the federal government and 35 percent by the state. Contractor Great Lakes Dredge and Dock completed dredging and sand pumping on Dec. 23.