State: Loss of sand at inlet’s north beach a natural occurrence

Earlier this year, in response to two dune breaches along Coastal Highway just north of the Indian River Inlet in 2024, the state placed about 480,000 cubic yards of sand on the beach north of the inlet.

Now, three months later, a significant amount of the sand has already been washed away, exposing large pieces of metal debris and structures that aren’t safe.

Michael Globetti, Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control spokesperson, said the loss of sand is because of a naturally occurring event, as well as sand lost from recent storms and high waves. Some sand is drifting north, some has gone to the ebb shoal offshore and some to the flood shoal inside the inlet, he said.

DNREC experts believe some of the ebb shoal sand may return to the shore naturally, said Globetti. There are no concerns at this time about the sand piling up at the mouth of the inlet and creating a navigation hazard for boaters, he said.

In addition to the loss of sand, the large concrete foundation of an old Coast Guard antenna near the north jetty is now visible again, and there’s a large piece of rebar protruding from the beach that’s only partially visible at high tide.

The material is entrenched within a larger piece of debris that was likely attached to the base anchoring system when it was first installed, said Globetti. At this time, DNREC cannot safely remove the pipeline without creating a larger hazard, he said.

The base structure is slated to be removed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 2026, and this includes anything attached to it, said Globetti.

In addition to beach replenishment projects, the state has a sand bypass system that’s designed to move about 100,000 cubic yards per year from the beach south of the inlet to the beach north of the inlet. The system hasn’t been operational since before COVID, but it appears that could change soon.

The sand bypass’ electric engines are expected to arrive the week of June 16, said Globetti. Hooking up the engines is expected to begin the second week of July, with testing beginning later that week and continuing through August, he said.

The sand bypass system is intended to substitute for the inlet’s interruption in the sand’s natural drift action, said Globetti. It’s a maintenance tool to be used to hold the line until larger renourishments become available every eight to 10 years, he said.

DNREC’s recent replenishment of the beach was the first of two slated for the area. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is expected to do the second phase later this year.

Globetti said the Army Corps plans to advertise Phase II of the north beach nourishment project this week with an anticipated start date of late August or early September 2025. Their goal is to pump an additional 300,000 cubic yards of sand from the ebb shoal, he said.