Public Meeting Set to Discuss Cox Hall Creek Project

TOWN BANK — A public meeting will be held July 12 at 10 a.m. at the Property Owners Association of Cape May Beach Building on Clubhouse Road to present results of a hydrology study to introduce saltwater flow into Cox Hall Creek.
Cox Hall Creek Focus Group Chairman Lee Spruell said engineers will explain how much water from the bay is needed to kill phragmites and also how they can drain the creek into the bay in the event of a Nor’easter or hurricane.
“They’ll be talking about what steps to take in terms of getting water past Clubhouse Road at the “S” curve where the creek feeds into the bay,” said Spruell.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the County Planning Department have taken the lead on the project. Spruell said Fish and Wildlife is seeking to answer questions from the public.
A concern for property owners adjacent to Cox Hall Creek is the possibility their drinking water wells will become salty when water from the bay is let into the creek. Spruell said Lower Township would correct any such problem for a homeowner either through digging a new well or connecting the home to municipal water.
Spruell said the project is large and expensive and requires the proper planning to attract public agencies that may be interested in funding the project.
He said one benefit of eliminating a large number of phragmites is less fire danger. In the fall of 1999, a fire broke out in the Cox Hall Creek area, which could have endangered homes. The fire, which was fed by dried out phragmites, was contained by a large contingent of fire fighters.
Spruell said not all phragmites would be eliminated but the highest and thickest stands would be controlled by saltwater inflow.
Another benefit of the introduction of saltwater into the now freshwater marsh would be fewer mosquitoes.
“It is probably the most wonderful mosquito breeding area in Cape May County,” said Spruell.
He said there are some mosquitoes that breed in saltwater, so while the mosquito population would be diminished, it would not disappear. Along with saltwater from the bay, fish would enter the creek, which could further lessen the mosquito population.
Once upon a time, Cox Hall Creek was a salt marsh where salt hay was grown, said Spruell. Lower Township Municipal Utilities Authority (MUA) turned a portion of Cox Hall Creek to freshwater in order to send treated sewage through the creek for dumping in Delaware Bay many years ago, he said.
The proposed project would reverse the MUA’s work and remove the pumping station and replace them with water control valves.
Contact Fichter at (609) 886-8600 ext. 30 or at: jfichter @cmcherald.com