Indian River Near Millsboro Beneficial Use Dredging Project - DNREC

Indian River Near Millsboro Beneficial Use Dredging Project - DNREC
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Work is ongoing to dredge the navigational channel along the Indian River, near Millsboro. The material dredged from the channel is used in a marsh enhancement project to restore a local wetland area.
Kathleen Bergin
Shoreline and Waterway Management Section
302-855-7290
Comments and Questions
The project goals include maintaining a navigable waterway and wetland restoration.
This is a collaborative project, drawing on the expertise of two teams – the
Wetland Monitoring and Assessment Program
and the
Shoreline and Waterway Management Section
– in the DNREC Division of Watershed Stewardship.
The project area is in the Inland Bays region of Sussex County, located on the east side of the Town of Millsboro. The beneficial use project site can be found in the upper reaches of the Indian River, along
pre-existing wetland property
owned by the Town of Millsboro.
Since a previous dredging project in the Indian River in 2019, the channel in this area has decreased due to sedimentation and shoaling.
Project overview map: Navigational channel (colored) to be dredged and restoration site/placement area (outlined)
Project Update (April 2026)
Work continues about ten days each month, during high tide windows (6 a.m. to 2 p.m.), though tides and weather may cause some schedule changes.
The crew averages about 30 feet per day (about 100 feet per week, depending on conditions). Since July 2025, approximately 1,000 feet have been completed over 41 dredging days, with about 1,700 feet remaining. Daily dredging time has increased to just over three hours as winter conditions have improved, translating to roughly 15 to 20 hours per week during active periods.
Boater access through the work area remains limited. The channel is closed during construction to avoid damage to the dredge and pipeline and to avoid re-sedimentation of completed sections.
This project is funded through DNREC appropriations in the fiscal year 2023 budget.
Beneficial Use
Traditional land disposal of dredged material is difficult to plan and maintain. The Division of Watershed Stewardship has researched alternatives for sediment placement.
Over the last several decades, beneficial use of dredge material has been investigated as a method to restore degraded or submerged tidal marshes.
Major goals of this project are to demonstrate techniques for using dredged material for wetland restoration, to improve navigability within the upper reaches of the Indian River, and to help build program capacity for future use of dredge material for environmental benefits.
Project Overview
Project areas: 8 acres of Phragmites treatment and 7 acres of marsh recreation in the tidal wetland
DNREC’s Shoreline and Waterway Management Section uses a
data-based method to prioritize dredging projects
. It has identified the Indian River as a top priority for dredging. This method includes surveys of residents and users of the waterway, channel depth, boater safety and other environmental considerations.
Traditional maintenance dredging of the Indian River to maintain navigable channels requires the disposal of dredge materials in upland containment units which are limited by size and access.
As an alternative, DNREC will use dredged sediment as a resource to restore wetlands adjacent to the dredging area. Beneficial use of dredge material is a wetland restoration strategy that can help stabilize sensitive shorelines that ultimately reduce erosion and storm damage.
The project aims to remove up to 40 thousand cubic yards of sediment from Indian River over two years and to restore 15 acres of tidal wetlands on Town of Millsboro property through wetland recreation and invasive Phragmites treatment.
History of coastal wetland loss and shoreline comparison over decades at the Millsboro project site
The project will restore native high marsh by treating invasive Phragmites (
Phragmites australis
). It will build a new marsh platform and recreate a former low marsh using dredged sediments from the upper reaches of the Indian River and seeding of native plants.
Once the project is complete, the restored wetland will be monitored for three to five years.
State and federal permits required for the project to restore wetland habitat using dredge material have been acquired.
DNREC has engaged
Anchor QEA
to provide engineering services and limited construction oversight.
The
Town of Millsboro
and private landowners are also supporting partners of the restoration project.
Project Goals
The goals of this project are to demonstrate techniques for using dredged material for wetland restoration and to improve navigability within the Indian River. This project will use lessons learned from DNREC’s beneficial reuse project at Piney Point, as well as lessons learned from projects in other states. Specifically, the project goal is to demonstrate how dredged material can be used to restore former wetland habitat that has become unvegetated and submerged.
Additional important goals of the Millsboro project are:
To provide relief from extreme shoaling over the next two years through dredging the primary channel
To recreate a former, submerged tidal wetland with the reuse of dredge materials
To replace lost wetland habitat to stabilize shorelines and reduce erosion
To restore areas invaded by Phragmites to native marsh plants
To build capacity within DNREC for additional dredge and restoration projects
Project Benefits
This project will provide multiple benefits.
For the Town of Millsboro:
To help protect adjacent infrastructure from flooding, storm damage, and erosion
To alleviate navigational hazards
To increase coastal resilience in the face of storms and sea-level rise
To provide improved wildlife habitat and water quality
To enhance recreational opportunities
Helping meet
Delaware Wetland Management Plan
goals:
To protect the remainder of the wetland habitat, several important properties, and surrounding infrastructures from impacts of sea level rise and other environmental stressors
To help DNREC identify alternative disposal options to better benefit the citizens of Delaware
To address regional priorities for wetland restoration and sediment management
Project Timeline
Permits for the project specify specific time periods during which the work will not impact any vulnerable species. Work is restricted to only those times of year.
For more information on the project, please contact Kathleen Bergin at 302-855-7290.
Related Topics:
dredging
marsh restoration
phragmites
watershed stewardship
waterway management
wetlands
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