FWIW, Bethany property taxes have nothing to do with funding the Corps projects. The project in Bethany is paid for by Federal tax dollars and State tax dollars. Town and County property taxes dont factor in to the cost sharing.
Sand from N assateague would have come down from OC but is now blocked post-1933 inlet formation and jetty blockage. The root supply of sand for the OC barrier island is not well understood, but sediment supply out rivermouths such as the Delaware Bay, Chesapeake Bay, Indian River and such probably provided a good bit of sand that formed the barrier islands
Offshore breakwaters would not do anything to improve surfing. They were one of the alternatives proposed by the engineer at Herring Point and were rejected precisely because they would be SO detrimental to surfing. Basically the waves would slam on the breakwaters and dissipate all their energy in deep water. The main reason Bethany's groins werent as effective in trapping sand as IRI, Rehoboth and other spots north is that there is isn't as much south to north littoral sand transport in Bethany. Bethany is more east facing so the net incoming wave energy is neutral in direction (south and north equal but slightly south) as opposed to Rehoboth or Cape Henlopen where the net wave energy / sand movement is strongly out of south. Groin's sole purpose is to capture and trap moving sand. the closer you are to the center of the littoral cell (Fenwick - Bethany) the less sand transort there is
I thought that it was generally accepted that the inlet beach in OC is relatively wide because sand migrates there from the north part of Assateague, hence the gradual loss of sand from northpoint over the years since 1933!
The inlet "catches" all of the sand moving south and "starves" the northside of Assa. Some sand passes by, but the inlet current carries it out and deposits it onto the shoals. That's what gives the shoals their gradual bend back into the island.
Yes, but if I remember oceanography 101 thats really bad for disrupting natural patterns of accretion/sedation so you end up like in certain spots of Jerz or wherever where the waves are breaking against the concrete wall which ends up making like a swimming pool wall basically suicidal for surfing Edit: like other people have already said.
No Salt It's because the sand drifting from north to south is stopped by the OC inlet jetty - What's funny is that those little boardwalks that are perpendicular to the main drag were built so the average OC tourist wouldn't keel over and die on hundred yard walk in softsand to the ocean.
