Sand and gravel are essential for supporting and maintaining economic development throughout Delaware. These natural resources are used primarily for aggregate in the productions of concrete for residential, commercial, and industrial buildings, bridge and highway construction, fill for road beds and foundations, water and wastewater treatment facilities, and for replenishment of our Atlantic and Delaware Bay beaches.
There are relatively large quantities of sand and gravel in Delaware. Most of these resources occur as surficial or near-surface deposits that form a veneer of sand and gravel with a thickness up to 150-200 ft in the Delaware Coastal Plain. The deposits generally thicken from north to south across Delaware. However, the quantity and quality of the sand and gravel deposits is not evenly distributed throughout Delaware. There are significant quantities of sand deposits in Delaware Bay and off Delaware’s Atlantic Coast that have been and will be used for beach replenishment (DGS Report of Investigations No. 63 An Evaluation of Sand Resources, Atlantic Offshore, Delaware).
