Shoreline-monitoring cameras installed on Lewes beaches
Robin Mattheus said he is not exactly looking forward to the next big storm, but when it comes, his cameras will be there to capture the effects on the shoreline.
Mattheus is a coastal geologist with the Delaware Geological Survey, part of the University of Delaware.
The cameras are part of a pilot program to determine how wind, waves and weather effect the beaches. The results will determine how beach replenishment resources are allocated.
The cameras snap a still photo every 30 minutes. No video is recorded.
“The vantage point drives what we can get from each camera,” he said. “We’ll see the tide coming in and out and, during storms, document what areas are inundated or not.”
Mattheus’ team recently installed cameras facing the water at Savannah Beach and Johnnie Walker Beach in Lewes.
There are 10 cameras on beaches from Kent County to Cape Shores in Lewes, Cape Henlopen State Park and one at the Indian River Inlet.
The City of Lewes is the first municipal partner to join the pilot. The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control’s Shoreline Management Program is also a partner.
Lewes Deputy Mayor Khalil Saliba, chair of the city’s economic, environmental and resiliency commission, said the goal is to have enough data to know where the real problems are.
“It helps with our resiliency programs and understanding where our vulnerabilities are. If it works out like it’s supposed to, this will become the foundation of beach replenishment in the future,” Saliba said.
Mattheus said they are looking for private citizens who want to participate in the program by having cameras installed on their bayfront or oceanfront properties. Email mattheus@udel.edu for more information.
The pilot is scheduled to end April 30, but Mattheus said they hope to continue past that date.
“We’re getting a regional picture to start to unravel how sand moves along the coast and how different beaches react to different storms,” he said.
Mattheus is expected to make a presentation to the Lewes Economic, Environmental and Resiliency Commission in February.
Bill Shull has been covering Lewes for the Cape Gazette since 2023. He comes to the world of print journalism after 40 years in TV news. Bill has worked in his hometown of Philadelphia, as well as Atlanta and Washington, D.C. He came to Lewes in 2014 to help launch WRDE-TV. Bill served as WRDE’s news director for more than eight years, working in Lewes and Milton. He is a 1986 graduate of Penn State University. Bill is an avid aviation and wildlife photographer, and a big Penn State football, Eagles, Phillies and PGA Tour golf fan. Bill, his wife Jill and their rescue cat, Lucky, live in Rehoboth Beach.
