Dune fencing goes up in Dewey
Approximately 4,500 linear feet of dune fencing is being installed in Dewey Beach.
Jennifer Luoma, a representative from the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control’s Division of Watershed Stewardship, said the project is designed to keep pedestrian and vehicular traffic off the primary dunes and direct traffic to designated access points.
She said 450 cedar posts, shipped from Canada, will be driven four feet into the sand, and 90 rolls of sand fence, each 50 feet long, will be attached. The project started June 15 and should be finished by the end of July, Luoma said.
Luoma said the money for the project comes from the state’s Beach Bond Bill and there are three costs associated with the project: cedar posts run about $2,750; 90 rolls of sand fencing costs a little more than $3,100. Then there’s the labor of four state conservation technicians.
She said the fence was last installed in Dewey about two years ago and has since been buried.
“Close to 4 feet of sand has accumulated at the seaward toe of the dune in the last two years,” she said.
Luomo said the lifespan of the fence depends on the severity and frequency of coastal storms and the rate of accumulation of sand on the dune.
Chris Flood has been working for the Cape Gazette since early 2014. He currently covers Rehoboth Beach and Henlopen Acres, but has also covered Dewey Beach and the state government. He covers environmental stories, business stories and random stories on subjects he finds interesting, and he also writes a column called Choppin’ Wood that runs every other week. He’s a graduate of the University of Maine and the Landing School of Boat Building & Design.
