DELAWARE- Beach nourishment restores eroded sand and protects our coast. DNREC says due to rising costs and demands for the projects, funds could run out by 2025 if money is not allocated from somewhere else. Right now DNREC uses one eight of the eight percent state accommodation tax for the project.
Cherrie Dorfman, who lives and works at a local store on the boardwalk in Bethany Beach says many of the local businesses depend on the beach for business.
"People walk in in bathing suits, and sometimes covered in sand, during the day, in the evening, they go out to dinner, they're strolling the boardwalk and they stop in yes, the beach is the pull," says Dorfman.
Jackie Burns, who grew up coming to Bethany Beach, and now owns a store in the downtown area, says she has seen the erosion over the years, and she hopes something changes."
"It's definitely not what it was when we were kids, there was a lot more of a beach, there was an area under the boardwalk, and we've just had so many storms since then that have changed our beach, we still have an amazing little town but we definitely need to have a beach for people to come to," explained Dorfman.
DNREC says it has commissioned a study to find more nourishment funding, as well as purse grant opportunities.