Delaware Coast from Cape Henlopen to Fenwick Island, Fenwick Island DE

Fenwick Island Coastal Storm Damage Reduction Project

USACE Philadelphia District
Published Feb. 7, 2024
The Fenwick Island Coastal project was initially constructed in 2005. The project is designed to reduce storm damages.

The Fenwick Island Coastal project was initially constructed in 2005. The project is designed to reduce storm damages.

The Fenwick Island project includes a 200-foot wide berm with an elevation of +7.7 feet NAVD, and a dune with an elevation of +17.7 feet NAVD over a total project length of 6,500 feet.

The Fenwick Island project includes a 200-foot wide berm with an elevation of +7.7 feet NAVD, and a dune with an elevation of +17.7 feet NAVD over a total project length of 6,500 feet.

CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS: DE-AL

APPROPRIATION/PHASE: Construction General

BUSINESS LINE: Flood & Coastal Storm Damage Reduction

AUTHORITY: Senate Committee Resolution, 23 June 1988. Project authorized for construction in WRDA 2000. 

LOCATION: Fenwick Island, Sussex County, is a coastal community located along the Atlantic shoreline just north of the Delaware-Maryland state border. Fenwick Island State Park borders it to the north. 

DESCRIPTION: The plan proposed in the final feasibility report for flood and coastal storm damage reduction at Fenwick Island is a 200-foot wide berm with an elevation of +7.7 feet NAVD, and a dune with an elevation of +17.7 feet NAVD over a total project length of 6,500 feet. The plan includes dune grass, dune fencing, and suitable advance beach fill and periodic nourishment every four years to ensure the integrity of the design. The project was initially constructed in 2005 and has been repaired/renourished multiple times in subsequent years. 

PROJECT GOALS: The purpose of this project provides for hurricane and coastal storm damage reduction at Fenwick Island, with a berm and a dune, that includes dune grass, dune fencing, a beach fill, and periodic nourishment every four years. Periodic nourishment took place in summer of 2023. 
 

Year

Activity

Sep 2004-Nov 2005

Initial Construction

Jul-Aug 2013

FCCE Repair (Sandy)

Jul-Aug 2018

FCCE Repair (Jan. 2016) & Periodic Nourishment

June 2023  Periodic Nourishment 

 

SPONSOR: Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control

DATE OF PROJECT PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT: 13 Sept 2004      

TARGET COMPLETION DATE: 2054

PROJECT MANAGER: Peter Gori