BETHANY BEACH, Del. - Heavy machinery sat idle Thursday as seven foot waves crashed on the beaches at Bethany Beach.
The high surf and windy conditions caused the United States Army Corps of Engineers to temporarily halt beach replenishment operations in town.
"It's happening right when our tourist season is here," lamented Bethany Beach neighbor Barbara Rindfuss, who was hosting guests from Kansas. "I have company here and the weather is terrible and now the beach replenishment is on, so it's just sort of a bad combination."
After several coastal storms lashed Delaware beaches last year, beach towns were looking forward to quick repairs on their beaches, with minimal interruptions to the summer season.
With beach replenishment seemingly an annual rite, and seeing storms like Thursday's undo work already done, some neighbors in Bethany Beach see little point in keeping up the ritual.
"It seems like every year it's the same story," said neighbor Ethan Lupeichuk. "They try to replenish the beach early and then a storm like this, which isn't even that bad just comes and wipes the whole beach away again, so, it kind of seems like it's just a losing battle."
Independence Day is quickly approaching, and the delayed beach replenishment is already affecting celebrations. The annual fireworks show has been postponed to Labor Day weekend, which was bad news for one visitor's daughter.
"She's really bummed because they paid for a place and had a vacation planned for the Fourth of July," said Peter Pendl, visiting from Allegany, N.Y. "She got the message that they're not going to have the fireworks, so she's really disappointed."
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to resume beach work as soon as the weather calms down.
The Town of Bethany Beach expects the beach work to be complete by mid-July.
