Indian River Inlet/Sussex County, DE - The Delaware Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation is requesting the state hold a public meeting over conditions and future plans regarding the north shore of the Indian River Inlet.
Group officials say the conditions on that side have become dangerous, and they're requesting more help from the state.
DNREC officials told WBOC that, after the dune breach on August 18th, they utilized hardened shore remedies to begin repairs. This included placing large amounts of sand and rock along the dunes weak spots, officials said.
DNREC officials said this method was, in part, used to expedite repairs to the site due to the urgency of the situation.
Now, the Delaware Chapter of Surfrider told WBOC that this remedy will only worsen an already deteriorating shoreline along the inlet.
"We understand the urgency in protecting the road," Michael Powell, a volunteer with the organization said. "But the rock is already migrating down onto the beach because it just isn't rock that's capable of standing up to ocean energy."
Powell said the amount of debris along the shore has been dangerous for years.
"There's a deficit of sand on the North side. It's leading to dune damage, over-wash on the road, debris being uncovered," Powell said.
Powell said he hopes the state cleans up the debris and rehabilitates the shoreline.
To start, Powell said the Delaware Chapter of Surfrider is requesting that DelDOT, DNREC and the Delaware Seashore State Park hold a public meeting regarding their work and the conditions of the North side beach.
"We think that the public is craving information, and there's a lot of misinformation out there about what has happened, and what is being done," Powell said.
DNREC officials, who also represents the state park, told WBOC that they do continuous work to replenish the inlet and remove debris from the area. However, they said storm erosion often works faster than they can keep up.
DNREC leaders also said they plan to keep community partners informed about future plans and projects.
DelDOT officials said they plan to support DNREC to continuously protect the public and roadways.
The Surfrider Delaware Chapter is hoping these groups will host the meeting some time next month, both in person and streamed online.