Spoils from canal dredging to benefit two area projects

If everything goes as planned, the much-anticipated dredging of the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal will take place this fall. A new proposal would use about two-thirds of the spoils to benefit two other local projects.

The dredging of the canal has been in the works for years. As proposed, the contract calls for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to oversee the dredging of about 90,000 cubic yards of sediment from the canal. The work area is from the Freeman Highway bridge in Lewes to the entrance of the canal at Rehoboth Bay, just south of Rehoboth Beach. In 2024, the Army Corps managed a separate contract to dredge the northern portion of the canal from Roosevelt Inlet to the Freeman Highway bridge. Most recently, in August, the Army Corps awarded a $9.6 million contract to Cottrell Contracting Corporation of Chesapeake, Va., to do the work.

The original permit calls for all of the dredged sediment to be pumped to two placement sites between the canal and Lewes Beach. However, the Army Corps has submitted an application to the state requesting that about 60,000 cubic yards of the total be used to benefit an ongoing shoreline stabilization project being done by the Center for the Inland Bays and to benefit a future construction project at Sussex County’s Wolfe Neck Regional Wastewater Facility.

The state’s Division of Climate, Coastal and Energy issued a public notice Jan. 28 about the requested change.

According to a request letter included with the notice, the Army Corps is proposing to place 28,000 to 30,000 cubic yards of high-quality sand along the Rehoboth Bay shoreline of Thompson Island, which is part of Delaware Seashore State Park and was dedicated as a nature preserve in 2000.

This past fall, in an effort to reduce erosion, the CIB oversaw the in-water installation of more than 300 wave attenuation devices about 100 feet off the shoreline of Thompson Island. A wave attenuation device is a large, pyramid-shaped structure made of concrete that weighs about 1 ton. They are designed to let water flow through them, which helps absorb wave energy.

Clare Magargal, communication specialist for the CIB, said the group is aware of the Army Corps’ request and is encouraging the beneficial use of dredged material.

“We are in favor of this use of material, especially since it can provide environmental value. We hope to utilize a portion of the dredged material to directly support our Thompson Island living shoreline project by enhancing shoreline stability and habitat,” said Magargal in an email Jan. 28.

The request letter also calls for using about the same amount of the spoils – this time sandy and fine-grained – to fill an empty sewage treatment lagoon at the county’s treatment plant, which is located at the end of Wolfe Neck Road outside Rehoboth. It would help the county prepare for a future construction project within the lagoon.

Earlier this year, the county and the Lewes Board of Public Works reached a 30-year agreement that will have Lewes wastewater treated at the county’s Wolfe Neck plant and discharged into the canal.

Hans Medlarz, a county consulting engineer, said the spoils will be used to build the base for the new plant that is required at the county’s treatment plant. It’s a win-win for everyone, he said.

The remaining one-third of the spoils would be deposited on the placement sites in Lewes as originally proposed.

Beneficially utilizing the dredged sediments and not placing the entire 90,000 cubic yards in the Lewes site prolongs the lifespan of the site for future dredging projects, said the request letter.

The public can comment on the proposed changes until Tuesday, Feb. 17. Comments may be sent to: DNREC Coastal Programs, Jesse Hayden, Administrator, 100 W. Water St., Suite 7B, Dover, DE, 19904, or electronically to DNREC_DCP_PublicComment@delaware.gov. For additional information, go to de.gov/dnrecnotices or call 302-739-9283.