The intrusion of saltwater from a series of four dune breaches in the area of Fowler Beach, north of Broadkill Beach, threatens the freshwater marsh areas acting as the western buffer for Broadkill Beach.

“It’s only a matter of time before it kills off the marsh behind us,” said Jim Bailey, president of the Broadkill Beach Preservation Association, during the group’s annual meeting Saturday, July 24, in the Milton fire hall.

The series of breaches were opened during two storms over the past four years, Ernesto in 2006 and Ida in 2009, said John Chirtea, a Primehook Beach resident who has actively been working with state and federal officials to get the dunes repaired.

One breach north and three breaches south of Fowler Beach Road allow for tidal flow of saltwater into manmade freshwater marshes, he said.

A Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control crew was on site prepared to move sand to repair some of the breaches in early May, but was stopped by federal officials who said an environmental assessment was required before any work could be done.

Chirtea said the assessment has been drafted and is being reviewed by refuge management.

Retiring Rep. George Carey, R-Milford, who lives near the refuge, said the area around Fowler Beach Road in the refuge now resembles the Dead Sea. “It’s time for the federal government to get off its butt and do something,” he said. “What is being destroyed is ridiculous. The breaches should have been fixed. Eight years ago, there were 80,000 ducks out there, and now there are none.”

In addition, Carey said, he and other farmers near the refuge are starting to see saltwater intrusion into fields.

“Although this is in the Fowler and Primehook beaches areas now, it will affect you after awhile,” Carey told members of the association.

Sen. Gary Simpson, R-Milford, agreed with Carey. “We need to get those dunes fixed, but I’m not sure the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service backs that idea,” he said.

Chirtea said all bay area residents needed to contact federal elected officials to voice their opinions on the future of Prime Hook Refuge.

Sand would come from dredging

Broadkill Beach residents are also keeping a watchful eye on the progress of the Delaware River shipping channel deepening project. Dredged sand from the southernmost point of the project will end up on Broadkill Beach. Plans call for the channel to be dredged from 40 feet to 45 feet.

“We will get a wider dune and wider beach so we are lobbying for this project to go through,” Bailey said.

Bailey said the $300 million federal project would reduce the need for lightering of oil that occurs in the Delaware Bay. Currently, supertankers pull too much draft when fully loaded to navigate the river to refineries in Philadelphia. Because of that, some oil must be pumped off onto other ships.

“One big spill, and Delaware Bay is done,” Bailey said. “There is a great record so far in the bay, but that was also the case in the Gulf of Mexico.”

Despite lawsuits by Delaware and New Jersey agencies and environmental groups, dredging south of the Delaware Memorial Bridge began in March. The project would be funded 65 percent by the federal government through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and 35 percent by the Philadelphia Regional Ports Authority.

Sen. Gary Simpson, R-Milford, said he is confident the dredging project would continue, but he would like to see the sand replenishment project expanded beyond Broadkill Beach.

The Broadkill Beach Preservation Society is a busy group. The society hosts an annual July 4th parade, provides funds and volunteers to plant beach grass, does a spring beach cleanup, provides volunteers for a neighborhood watch and Beach Plum Island watch and publishes a newsletter.

Members also help clean up the public beach area after weekends and holidays, provide a beach grass fertilization program, provide outdoor toilets for the public beach and advocate on behalf of residents.