DNREC clarifies Broadkill project info
A plan to move sand between sections of the Broadkill Beach shoreline was a hot topic at the July 19 annual meeting of the Broadkill Beach Preservation Association Inc., as state officials explained the project and its benefits.
The sand at Broadkill Beach has not been replenished since the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers changed the landscape in 2015.
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control sent Jennifer Luoma Pongratz, an environmental scientist, and Karen A. Taylor, a coastal environmental scientist, to the meeting. Joe Faries, a coastal engineer with DNREC’s Division of Watershed Stewardship who planned the project, participated via phone. The meeting drew more than 150 members to Milton Fire Hall.
The plan to move sand from south to north on a one-mile stretch of beach and reshape the man-made dune had raised concerns among some residents. The work will be done on a section about three-quarters of a mile between Georgia Avenue and an A-frame house along the beach at the end of Bay Front Road.
Faries and Pongratz said the project will correct errors made in the last project. The earlier work did not take into account the natural forces that shape the beach, which contributed to the movement of the sand, they said.
“It’s not functioning as a natural dune because it’s not a natural dune,” Pongratz said.
The project will also allow for bringing in additional sand in the future, which is not possible now, she said.
“The dune is in the wrong place,” Faries said. “The constructed dune has grown and we will take sand from there … They put a straight-line beach where it was curved.”
“You’ll still have a high level of protection during construction and after construction,” Faries said.
In an area north of the Broadkill Store, the alignment of the natural dune and the curved shore have come into conflict and wiped out the dune, he said. Farther south, the dune built in 2015 has accumulated volume, extending bayward. Meanwhile, the shoreline has retreated elsewhere.
In addition to restoring the natural shape of the shoreline, sand from reshaping the man-made dune will be used to rebuild the dunes to the north, Faries said. The project will also re-create the natural beach slope, which will help protect the dune, he said.
Phil Paparodis and his partner Kathy Von Bredow, who live on South Bay Shore Drive, said after the meeting that concerns grew among local residents because of poor communication by the state. Several residents heard about the project during a potluck dinner in the spring, they said.
“I think it was a start on going in the right direction,” Paparodis said of the July 19 meeting.
Bob Conte, president of the Broadkill Beach Preservation Association, also said it was helpful that state representatives were available to answer questions.
“It went a lot better than I expected,” Conte said.
Kevin Conlon came to the Cape Gazette with nearly 40 years of newspaper experience since graduating from St. Bonaventure University in New York with a bachelor's degree in mass communication. He reports on Sussex County government and other assignments as needed.
His career spans working as a reporter and editor at daily newspapers in upstate New York, including The Daily Gazette in Schenectady. He comes to the Cape Gazette from the Cortland Standard, where he was an editor for more than 25 years, and in recent years also contributed as a columnist and opinion page writer. He and his staff won regional and state writing awards.
Conlon was relocating to Lewes when he came across an advertisement for a reporter job at the Cape Gazette, and the decision to pursue it paid off. His new position gives him an opportunity to stay in a career that he loves, covering local news for an independently owned newspaper.
Conlon is the father of seven children and grandfather to two young boys. In his spare time, he trains for and competes in triathlons and other races. Now settling into the Cape Region, he is searching out hilly trails and roads with wide shoulders. He is a fan of St. Bonaventure sports, especially rugby and basketball, as well as following the Mets, Steelers and Celtics.
