Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1921-01-31
TWO JETTlEs NEEDED.
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p
sent case, after n study Of the maps
and OF the physical conditions. It u GER
taiuly reasonable to assume that the
situation at present existing along the
Rehoboth front has been influenced to
an appreciable extent by the dsnec-
ton Of the ocean currents At times OF
greatest attack by the ocean against
this beach, by works constructed by the
government.
Two things must be done II Reho-
both Is to continue AZ a coast resort
OF the State.
Ffrst-,A rip rap jetty must be con-
structed north of the lighthouse. ex-
tending out from the shore sufficiently
far to defect tho currents out OF Della
ware Bay, away from the beach to tho
south, ana
Second--Btructures must be built
locally at Rehoboth in the form of
storm jetty. curved and with a spur,
somewhere in the northerly part of the
town and one or two low groynes.
normal to the shore In the central or
southerly part Of tho town.
The cost of these structures In
estimated at $4,000. This does not In
cIude any bulkheading along Surf ave-
nue.. or any restoration of that avenue
or Of the structures along It.
1t does not appear that the erosion at
Rehoboth IL entirely the result Of ma
tural conditions. There are unques-
| tionable cycles when eroeions take
| place along beach fronts. and when
accretions occur. but Rehoboth's pres
ent condition does not appear to
| be entirely due to the natural cycle OF
| ocean phenomena. The worst erosions
occur on tho Rehoboth beach front
during ahb tide In heavy northeast
storm and statements have been made
| that during this condition, the drift
| southerly along the Rehoboth frontage
| Is as fast as q man can walk. During
| n heavy northeast blow, the waters
during flood tide will pile up on the
| Delaware Bay. along the Bewes front.
| due to the influence of the wind and
| the flow Of the river. Upon a turn OF
| the tide, the water piled up on tho Della
ware side of the bay inside the cape
| will ssek to rush out and meeting the
| Harbor Of Refuge breakwater, lying
| az Il does, 10 DETECTED. to some extent
| at least. To the south along the beach.
| IL may be. therefore, that the work
| done by the government, In the con-
struction OF this Harbor of Refuge. has
detected a current toward tho Reho-
both beach front and caused 1t to erode
The movements of the cape. north of
the lighthouse Indicate that under nor
NAL conditions. there is drift of sand
from the south around the point and
into the bay. The point has been ex-
tending TO the north. but the principle
| erosion has. as stated before. occurred
during heavy northeast storms. carry
ing the sand In n general southerly
objection.
1 ~ fnw vnfA Inn he
II ss clear that two things must be
done:
That the current out of the
bay must be detected away from this
beach front, and that jetties must bs
placed locally to hold the sand from
moving under storm conditions and te
accumulate IL during conditions OF
normal weather. A rip rap Jetty should
be built near tho point. for the purpose
OF protecting the lighthouse and OF de-
flecting the current from the shore te
the south That will be OF great pro-
lection to Rehoboth. but II will not bs
. | enough In itself A jetty four miles
north OF Rehoboth will probably take
some years to show its constructive ef.
feet at Rehoboth. but 1t will at least ac'
against further erosion.
The lighthouse is in great danger, thu
| present jetties are Perhaps OF greater
danger to the structure than they ar
| of aid TO IL. The water in storms get
behind these tetties and a heavy north
/, east storrn. lasting for several days, i
liable to further denude the bank at th'
base of the light and eventually. unles
some protection lis afforded. the struc
ture will be undermined and destroyed
And with II gone and the point furthe
washed away. the beach to the south i
likely to further retreat and Rehobotl
r TO become in still greater danger.
II the government has placed struc
] ture, which, however successful IL ma,
I have been In the past for the purpos
: for which IL was designed, has defiecte
e the current on TO a beach and causes
. it's destruction--then unquestionably
. the community and the State so damag
D ed, has a certain right of redress al tn
Y hands Of the government.
4 That this situation may have been {
: some extent in the minds OF the govern
r ment engineers is indicated by the fol
e lowing quotation from House Of Rep
resentatives document No. 1898. Sixty
/ fourth Congress. first session, being
n letter from the Secretary OF Wal
Q transmitting, with letter from IN
G chief of engineers. reports on pre-
d hninary examination and survey {
. Delaware Breakwater and Harbor
@ Refuge, Delaware Bay, Delaware, date
8 July 20. 1916. On page q. parasrap
:. 5S of this document. being the repoi
A from the district officer, TO the chief {
Y engineers. United States arm.
- Through the division engineer) on III
h survey of Delaware Breakwater an
. Harbor OF Refuge. Delaware Ba,
q Delaware. there appears as follows:
q 1.-The extension of the new breal
water. toward Cape Henlopen, whi
:, having the advantage OF exoludin
from the Harbor of Refuge the heavie
seas that occur in this locality. is oil
building a breaIxwater in the dee
water that exists along this line wou
be great; second. because any marrow
ing of the entrance to the harbor. wou
9 increase the difficulty in entering
u during heavy and thick weather: thir
y because a narrowing of the opening b
70 tween the breakwater and Cape Hel
g lopen would probably increase Il
u velocity of the tidal currents, with
e possible consequent erosion of the Cal
II Henlopen shore; and fourth, the fir
'e movement of ice, out of the harh
Y, with the ebb tide on northwest win
II would be restricted ="
of IT is not possible to prove, as stat
n above, that the government has eau
l. ed this destruction, but there are go
= arguments and reasons why the su
iect at least be investigated by the go