Replenishment must deliver sand, not stones

As dredging crews prepare to begin a beach renourishment project in Rehoboth Beach and Dewey Beach, it is critical environmental officials keep a close eye on the project to ensure this year’s sand is free of the stones that plagued the last major renourishment project in 2005.

Sand pumped onto the beaches during that project contained more stones than expected, and millions of them still remain along the beaches. Many stones collect in a trough at the shoreline, where they make it impossible for parents to stand in the surf and lift their children out of the path of oncoming waves.

This classic activity has been enjoyed by generations of children who soon learn to love the thrill of the waves. Yet it is one that is all but impossible on many parts of today’s beach.

Standing on a bed of shifting stones, parents struggle to keep their balance, let alone lift their toddlers high into the air.

That’s not to mention people who for decades have body surfed in Rehoboth but now emerge with bruises and “shore rash” – scrapes and abrasions caused by the stony shoreline.

Hurricane Irene helped level out the shoreline so the beach is somewhat less steep than it has been in recent years. But even the hurricane did not do much to move the stones. Environmental officials say they will slowly move northward until the beaches are again clear.

It will probably take at least a generation before the stones move that much; they will disappear only if new sand pumped onto the beaches does not bring new stones into the system.

Sand used during a more recent beach repair project, pumped from a borrow site off Fenwick Island, seemed to contain fewer stones than the sand from the 2005 project, and this year’s sand is scheduled to come from the cleaner Fenwick Island site.

The quality of this sand cannot be left to chance.

Environmental officials must ensure that it’s sand, not stones, on our beaches. Ensuring the safety and beauty of our shoreline will ensure future generations of children will enjoy the thrill of the waves and learn, in turn, to protect one of our greatest resources.