Sen. Tom Carper tours beach renourishment efforts in Sussex County

BETHANY BEACH, Del. – United States Senator Tom Carper made his way to Sussex county early Friday morning to show army corps engineers and other state officials just how important these dunes are to the town of Bethany Beach.

“This is an insurance policy, we know the weather is getting more severe, we know the storms are getting worse, and we need to be ready for that,” said Carper (D)-Delaware.

The dunes you regularly pass to and from your way to the beach, are more important than you’d ever know. That’s because they play a crucial role in whether or not coastal towns in Sussex County are protected from high tides and flooding when severe weather hits.

“The sad truth is our land is sinking, and the seas are rising. We would not have a beach like this, we would not have a dune like this, and frankly we would not have a town like this,” said Carper.

Which is why Senator Tom Carper and other officials spent the day highlighting the relationship between the state and the army corps of engineers. Who provide the funding needed for these beach replenishment projects.

“It’s great to see it first hand and actually talk to the people to see how it’s having an impact and the effect that we intended for it to have,” said Lieutenant Colonel David Park.

Carper spent the majority of the day touring the dunes with army corps officials, stressing the importance of these projects, and how it can keep Bethany Beach and other towns near the water safe and most importantly prepared.

“When the next big storm happens and we know it’s coming, at the end of the day this town will not have been wiped off the map, people who work here and live here will still be here, we’ll have roads we’ll have sewer systems, water systems,” said Carper.

Senator Carper adds that as long as there’s continued support and funding to keep these replenishment projects going, he’ll do whatever it takes to make sure beach resorts in the county are protected. Over the next couple of days the army corps of engineers will also be announcing new funding that will be awarded to both Dewey and Rehoboth Beach to continue their beach replenishment projects.