NORTH WILDWOOD – North Wildwood City Council authorized $12,500 at its Tuesday, Oct. 17, meeting to make certain beach repairs to damage caused by storms.
The council passed a resolution saying “severe damage” had occurred due to recent coastal storms, including damage to the 20th Avenue outfall pipe and the 3rd Avenue beach bulkhead. The storm activity even exposed abandoned drainage infrastructure on the beach at both 4th and 13th avenues. The resolution said all these conditions “present public safety hazards and require immediate repair and/or removal.”
Mayor Patrick Rosenello said the city was able to install the bulkhead in front of the 15th Avenue lifeguard headquarters before there was serious damage there. As it is, the dune in front of the headquarters was completely gone. He said without the dune any storm would result in the area being inundated with seawater.
The city is presently going through a dialogue with the state Department of Environmental Protection regarding the city’s treatment of the beachfront. Rosenello said the city wants to stockpile sand in the back of the present dune and the DEP wants sand to be placed in the tidal zone in front of the dune line.
“That would be a complete waste of time,” Rosenello said.
He said such patchwork solutions will be gone with the next storm.
“If you put enough sand on the beach at one time it will hold,” Rosenello said.
He said trucking sand from areas of higher concentration doesn’t work and he believes the only solution is to pump sand onto the beach using an offshore dredge.
Contact the author, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
