Concerns raised over trash left behind at Deauville Beach

August 31, 2024 12

After spending the early morning hours of many days this summer cleaning up Deauville Beach, a Rehoboth Beach renter and resident are asking the state to step up its game for next year. In response, the state says this summer has been a year for learning, and after an end-of-summer review, changes will be implemented.

For the first time in 50 years, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control has overseen operations at Deauville Beach in Rehoboth Beach. The beach area is immediately north of the Boardwalk and falls within Rehoboth Beach limits, but it’s owned by the state. The city had overseen operations, but the lease with DNREC expired, and the two sides couldn’t reach an agreement to continue the arrangement. The Division of Parks and Recreation assumed control of the area, which includes 600 yards of beach, a parking lot, tennis courts and the dune crossings coming in from Surf Avenue, in February.

Terri Eros, a seasonal renter on Wilmington Avenue for over a decade, has been walking the beach from Wilmington Avenue to North Shores for years. She’s always been collecting trash as she walks.

“If you don’t get it, the tide will get it,” said Eros. “We have a responsibility to keep the beach clean.”

This past summer, the trash situation at Deauville Beach is worse than ever, said Eros. For example, she said, the morning after the city’s annual fireworks show, the beach was littered with debris.

Property owner Elise Burns, a member of the Rehoboth Beach Homeowners’ Association, has also been monitoring the situation all summer. The state just isn’t keeping its promises, she said.

Similar to other state-owned park areas, Deauville Beach has a carry-in, carry-out trash system. Paper trash bag receptacles have been placed at the entrance to the access points in the Deauville Beach parking lot.

Compliance with the carry-in, carry-out model has continued to improve throughout the summer, said Shauna McVey, DNREC spokesperson.

The problem, said Burns, is that the city placed trash cans along Surf Avenue and has been collecting the trash people are leaving behind on the street ends of the dunes. This area is a residential community with a lot of visitors, she said.

Lynne Coan, city spokesperson, confirmed the city has been collecting trash at Deauville Beach most of the summer. The trash cans are checked and, if needed, emptied three times per day, she said.

“We had reports early in the season of trash being left along Surf Avenue,” she said. “The city is committed to ensuring that all of our roadways/public areas remain clean and attractive, and has placed trash cans there to help reduce the chances of littering.”

DNREC has not been paying the city to provide this service, said Coan.

The cans are on City of Rehoboth property, and paid for and maintained by Rehoboth, said McVey when asked if DNREC was paying the city.

Erros said one of the big issues is how little the beach rake has operated this summer.

Burns said she could only count a few times that she had seen the rake at Deauville.

Typically, said McVey, the state has raked Deauville Beach once a week. It is cleaned in conjunction with Gordons Pond by Cape Henlopen State Park maintenance staff, she said.

Eros and Burns are already looking to next summer.

“Based on this year, what’s the plan for next year?” said Eros.

The division plans to do a review of all day-to-day operations at Deauville Beach at the end of the season, including parking, lifeguards and concession operations, said McVey. The review will also include beach cleaning and evaluating opportunities that may exist, she said.

It’s not all bad news at Deauville.

The division recently installed an accessibility mat over the Oak Avenue dune crossing.

The division received a sponsorship for the new mat, said McVey. The division plans to utilize social media to announce and promote sponsorship of beach mats for Deauville Beach and other locations in Delaware State Parks when funding is available, she said.