The Delaware Bay Beach Nourishment Project has been delayed until fall 2027 because officials have yet to secure all required property easements.
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) and the US Army Corps of Engineers said in a September 10 memo that incomplete easements prevented bidding and construction this autumn or winter.
The project covers Pickering Beach, Kitts Hummock, Bowers Beach and Slaughter Beach. DNREC’s project tracker recorded 109 of 164 easements by September 25, including five of 27 in Bowers Beach.
All easements must be secured in time for USACE to solicit bids by March 2027 to retain the revised construction target.
DNREC plans to truck limited amounts of sand to Pickering Beach and Kitts Hummock between October and January for interim protection during winter 2026–27.
DNREC’s permanent beach easement permits construction and maintenance access, as well as public use. The agreements are between the department and individual property owners.
Bowers Beach mayor Ada Puzzo told WBOC some property owners were concerned about proposed easement boundaries approaching their homes as dunes eroded. “In a couple of cases at my town, it actually goes around the person's deck,” she said.
Nourishment is generally prohibited from April 15 through September 15 to help safeguard horseshoe crabs and shorebirds. The agencies said the project requires at least seven months from a decision to start bidding until completion.
The agencies said dividing construction by community was impractical because of the cost of mobilising and demobilising large dredging equipment.
Under an agreement for a single sand placement, the project will use material taken from the Delaware River navigable channel for coastal storm-risk management.
