The beaches of the Delaware Bay are constantly moving inland as sea level rise and storms take a bite out of the shoreline. When open space such as salt marsh is behind the beach, the sand can migrate and the beach will re-form further inland. When there are houses in the way, it is a different story. And this is the story at the densely-populated lower reaches of the Delaware Bay in Villas and North Cape May, NJ.
When most of these houses were built, they were a safe distance from the tides. Over the years, bulkheads were built here and there in front of houses that were at risk from coastal erosion. After Sandy, bulkheading and other erosion control activities have become widespread as beachfront homeowners face the prospect of more super storms.
The activity is at a fever pitch right now, and because each homeowner is responsible for funding their own home’s protection, there is an interesting mix of strategies being employed (see photos below).
The sad, ultimate outcome of all this bulkheading and shoreline hardening is that we will all lose a recreational beach. Beaches must have room to move inland to continue their existence. Once bulkheads are established this inland movement is stopped and it is inevitable that there will be no beach to walk on anymore. In addition, animals that called the beach habitat, like nesting horseshoe crabs and diamond-backed terrapins will need to go elsewhere as well.
The only solution to this problem is beach replenishment. It is not a perfect solution because it is costly and needs to be repeated at regular intervals. Beach replenishment is common on the Atlantic coast, but this practice is just starting on the Bay.
Beach replenishment work is underway now further up the bay at Reed’s Beach to help protect that community and to help improve degraded spawning habitat for horseshoe crabs.
Photos taken by me last week (March 2013)