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Broadkill Beach damage will be repaired

DNREC official says dunes built to take brunt of storms to protect houses
September 18, 2018

State environmental officials say the damaged dune crossovers at Broadkill Beach on Delaware Bay will be repaired.

Nearly a mile-long stretch of the dune line and several beach access points were battered Sept. 8-9 by a series of high tides and waves. A $63 million replenishment project was completed at Broadkill two years ago.

Mike Powell, Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control natural hazards program manager, said although there is damage, the replenishment and dune-enhancement project worked as planned. “We prepare projects like these to take the brunt of the storm,” he said. “Before this project, houses, septic systems and driveways would have been damaged. It's better to see the dunes and crossovers damaged than houses.”

Powell said there are several factors why damage was sustained in just one section of the dunes. “The community is not in a straight line along the shore,” he said. “Because of land-use decisions, some houses are a lot closer to the bay than others, which means some of the dunes are much closer to the bay.”

Powell said the movement of sand also plays a part. “It's all part of a complicated history at Broadkill,” he said, adding a Broadkill River inlet once emptied into the bay in the area and was filled in, which could affect how water flows along the shore from the bay.

The Broadkill Beach replenishment project was completed in spring 2016 after a year of pumping nearly 2 million cubic yards of sand, adding nearly 150 feet to the width along a 3-mile stretch of the beach. Most of the shoreline had been eroded by storms over the past four years.

The project also included a 16-foot dune complete with fencing, beach grass and a back barrier.

It is the longest beach replenishment project completed so far by DNREC and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The last replenishment project at Broadkill occurred in 2005, when environmental officials announced a 50-year plan to maintain the beach and protect the town.

Broadkill Beach is located along the Delaware Bay north of Lewes.

University of Delaware College of Earth, Ocean and Environment in Lewes oceanography professor Art Trembanis and a team of students were on the beach conducting pre-storm surveys, and are in the process of doing post-storm surveys and assessment to study the impact on Broadkill Beach.

 

 

 

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