Inland Bays Waterfront Property Guidebook

Owning a waterfront property can present challenges for individuals who want to preserve both this unique environment and their personal investment. Some of the most common questions we receive at the Center are related to preventing or managing flooding and erosion, as well as best practices for promoting sustainable living and maintaining vegetation.

We’ve created a guidebook that will provide guidance on how to protect your piece of paradise along with practical strategies that you, the homeowner, can implement to do your part in enhancing the Inland Bays and their surrounding watershed.  

Read the Waterfront Property Guidebook

Resources for Homeowners

• Coastal Hazards and Resilience
• Green Infrastructure Primer: A Delaware Guide to Using Natural Systems in Urban, Rural, and Coastal Settings
• Homeowners and HOAs
• Information for Homeowners

Landscaping and Gardening

• Gardening for the Bays
• Gardening for Water and Wildlife 
• Liveable Plants for the Home Landscape
• Rain Gardens for the Inland Bays: A Local Solution to Stormwater Pollution
• University of Delaware Soil Testing Program
• Watersense – Landscaping Tips

Living Shorelines and Vegetative Buffers

• Delaware Living Shorelines Committee

• Living Shorelines: Healthy Shores, Healthy Communities
• Living Shoreline Permitting Do’s and Dont’s
• Riparian Buffers 
• What’s Regulated

Native Plants and Invasive Species

• Audubon Native Plant Database
• Controlling Backyard Invaders
• Delaware Invasive Species Council 
• Invasive Species: The “Baddest of the Bad”
• Mistaken Identity? Invasive Plants & Their Native Look-Alikes: An Identification Guide for the Mid-Atlantic
• Private Lands Assistance: Phragmites Control Cost-Share Program
• The Delaware Wetland Plant Field Guide

Septic Systems

• Homeowner’s Guide to Septic Systems
• SepticSmart Homeowners
• Septic Systems
• Simply Septics: Guide for Delaware Homeowners

State and Local Resources

• Delaware Department of Transportation: Stormwater Management
• Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control: Environmental Crimes Hotline
• Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control: Wetlands and Subaqueous Lands
• Delaware Solid Waste Authority: Yard Waste Recycling

Getting Involved

• A Guidebook for Public Participation in Wetland Decision Making & Permitting
• Delaware Master Naturalist Program
• Marine Debris: Adrift at Sea
• Oyster Gardenining
• Terrapin Gardens
• Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research
• Volunteer with the Center for the Inland Bays