York County is rebuilding its destroyed dunes. Officials warn it’s just the start to save the coastline.

Roughly 7,600 cubic yards of dredged sand will be deposited in front of a long row of waterfront homes and businesses along Wells Beach altogether, a sight that York County emergency preparedness coordinator Chris McCall once doubted he’d ever see. York County purchased the dredge in 2021 with federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act. After the 2024 storms caused the county roughly $40 million in public damage and wrecked more than 200 homes, county officials began plotting how to use the machine to rebuild dunes from Ogunquit to Old Orchard Beach. The county wants to pursue a broader, $50-million project to restore the dunes to withstand a 100-year flood. Climate change makes powerful storms like those that rocked Maine’s coast that winter more likely, while rising sea levels put protective sand dunes at greater risk.