In mid-January, the beaches along the Delaware Bay are barren, absent of sunbathers and waders as chilly winter winds cut ripples in the sand.

But in another month’s time – if all goes as planned – Pickering, Kitts Hummock and Bowers beaches will start bustling as large trucks dump tons of sand along the surf.

For the small community of Pickering Beach, this will be the first time in nearly two decades that the beach has been replenished. Over the years, coastal storms and natural coastal processes have made for a much narrower strip of land and cut holes into the relatively small dune system there.

“If the dune is there, it needs to be nourished every now and again for it to stay there,” said part-time Pickering Beach resident Rene Herbst III. “Otherwise, it will erode to the point it is now.”

Beach replenishment is Delaware’s chosen method of coastal storm protection, in which sand is either trucked or dredged from other sites and used to strengthen and lengthen the face of the beach and dunes. Projects receive funding from the state and federal governments, but this one has no federal cost-share.

“It’s an ongoing and endless process,” said Michael Powell, administrator of the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control’s shoreline and waterway management section. “There’s obviously less tourism in a town like Pickering Beach than there is in Rehoboth Beach, but there is property and infrastructure at risk. There is vulnerability in all of the communities.”

In Dickie Dempsey’s family cottage overlooking the water on Sandpiper Drive, historical photographs show a Pickering Beach that appears nearly three times wider than the wind-licked stretch of sand there today.

When he was growing up, spending summers causing havoc at the bay beach, Dempsey remembers people storing boats in front of the dune and sitting around a sandy campfire.

“We used to have a bonfire on the beach, but you can’t now without worrying about it washing away,” the retired Kent County resident said.

Now he spends time with family at the decades-old house or enjoys calm walks on the beach searching for sea glass with his wife of 46 years.

While only a handful of people live year-round at Pickering, Dempsey said it’s a perfect reprieve for the public to enjoy a Delaware beach without the crowds and parking struggles of the more popular ocean beaches.

For Herbst, who lives full-time in Maryland, getting more sand to protect the small community has been a surprisingly positive experience.

“It took about a year … to get the ball rolling,” he said, noting that he and a handful of neighbors buzzed in the ear of their state legislators and officials. “We presented our case and they listened. And you know what? They actually responded. And it was really a victory for us.”

Pending federal and state permits, the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control expects to refill those small bay beaches with sand trucked from inland sites. A solicitation for bids will determine where that sand comes from, Powell said.

“There are several pits in Delaware that can meet that specification,” said Powell, noting that the project calls for trucks of sand to be dumped on those beaches where it will then be spread out to create an even slope.

Pickering Beach is set to receive at least 15,000 cubic yards of sand; Kitts Hummock, 15,000 cubic yards; and Bowers (north of the Murderkill River), 10,000 cubic yards, Powell said.

According to the bid solicitation, the project will begin with 2,600 feet at Pickering and move south to 4,800 feet along Kitts Hummock and finally a stretch of 2,200 feet at Bowers.

This project will pale in comparison to larger beach replenishment efforts, such as the recent $17.2 million project in Bethany, South Bethany and Fenwick Island beaches that called for more than 1 million cubic yards of sand. While the bay beach replenishments will be much smaller, Powell said the project will make a significant difference in the height and appearance of those beaches.

“We have historically done projects along the Delaware Bay just as often as along the Atlantic Ocean, but there’s less awareness of it,” he said.

Similar projects were completed in Kitts Hummock in 2010, 2012 and 2014. In Bowers Beach, similar projects were done in 2009, 2012 and 2018. The last time Pickering Beach was replenished was in 2001, using a hydraulic dredge, according to a DNREC press release.

BACKGROUND:Beach strategies: Rebuild, retreat or relax

The sand is needed largely due to damage from severe nor’easters cutting into the dunes over the past few years, Powell said.

“Just in the last year we’ve had impacts to the beach here,” he said as he pointed to gaps in a small dune at Bowers Beach. Nor’easters in the spring and fall caused serious damage to those dunes as strong winds and high surf cut away at the dunes, a process called scarping.

Three state legislators – Sen. Colin Bonini, Rep. Andria Bennett and Charles Postles – have set aside $300,000 in Community Transportation Fund money toward the project. But until the bids are received, it is unclear exactly how much the project will cost.

Permits for the project also are pending. Difficulties with permitting or weather could potentially delay the replenishment scheduled for February and March.

Contact reporter Maddy Lauria at (302) 345-0608, mlauria@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @MaddyinMilford.

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