Sand project underway to protect Delaware beaches before summer

Crews in southern Delaware are working to make sure there is enough sand on a key beach at Indian River Inlet before Memorial Day.

The project, which involves moving sand from one side of the inlet to the other, is part of an ongoing effort to protect Delaware’s coastline from erosion and increasingly severe storms.

“We are fighting the good fight. Coastal resiliency is very important in the state of Delaware,” said Kathleen Bergin with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.

Delaware is the lowest-lying state in the country, making its shoreline particularly vulnerable to storm damage. Officials say the Indian River Inlet takes some of the hardest hits.

The sand transfer project has become an annual effort, running from around Labor Day through Memorial Day. Sand that naturally builds up on the south side of the inlet is pumped to the north side, where it is needed most.

The process is described as a complex system of pipes and pumps that move a mixture of sand and water across the inlet, where it is deposited onto the beach and shaped by heavy equipment.

The pipes suck the sand and water up and force it into a pump house where large electric pumps force it up into pipes that go up along the side of the bridge. It then drops it on the other side where it is sucked down the pipes and ends up on the beach. From there, a bulldozer keeps shoring up the north side of the inlet.

State officials say the work is critical to maintaining both the beach and nearby infrastructure.

“We are helping to dewater that sand as it comes out, and what he’ll do is he’ll catch it and he’ll spread it out as it dries and raise the dune area and the berm area which is the flat part of the beach,” Bergin said.

U.S. Rep. Sarah McBride said the beaches serve more than just tourism in Sussex County.

“Our beaches here, which need regular nourishment, they are not just drivers of tourism here in Sussex County,” McBride said.

Officials say wider beaches help protect coastal communities and the bridge at Indian River Inlet — a critical route connecting areas along Delaware’s southern coast.

McBride said she secured $600,000 in federal funding for the project and noted that efforts like this can still draw bipartisan support.

“So despite the dysfunction that we too often see in Washington, there are glimmers of hope that we can work together and ultimately deliver for our constituents,” she said.

Officials say the work is ongoing and essential, as erosion remains a constant challenge.

“This has been a battle that’s been fought here since the 1960s,” Bergin said. “And we will continue to fight it until we can’t.”