Save Northside Beach

The Delaware Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation is organizing to save one of the best and most used recreational beaches in Delaware, Northside Beach at the Indian River Inlet.

The beach is starved of sand because of the jetty that protects the inlet. In the past, a sand bypass system helped alleviate this sand imbalance, but that system has been inoperable since 2017. Because there is so little sand on the beach, road asphalt, rebar, and other old infrastructure has been exposed, leading to dangerous beach conditions.

In the summer of 2023, the Chapter helped with a beach cleanup of this dangerous debris, organized by local surfer, and now Delaware Chapter Vice President, Crystal Stokowski. With the help of state agencies, they ended up removing about 50 tons of materials from the beach, but more has been routinely uncovered. More information about that cleanup can be found here.

The goals of this campaign are to: 

1. Get the dangerous material off the beach. 
2. Get more sand on the beach and build a thriving dune.
3. Protect recreation at the beach.

Possibly complicating, but also possibly helping the situation is an approved and funded US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) heavy maintenance and construction project for the Indian River Inlet jetty. On the one hand, this project could negatively impact the surfing and sand at Northside. On the other hand, the Chapter is hoping that some of the funds from this project can help remove the dangerous debris on the beach.

The Chapter is in communication with the USACE, and helped drive attendance to a public meeting hosted by them in February of 2024. The Chapter is also in communication with Delaware’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) Divisions of Watershed Stewardship and Parks and Recreation, who are trying to come up with funds to restore the beach.

Help us find a long term solution to restore Northside Beach to a stable state that supports safe recreation for Delaware! Follow our Instagram for updates (@surfriderdelaware), join our mailing list, and see our upcoming events!

Photo Credits: Top photo by Tiffany Caldwell.