Margate City Fire Department/Flooding behind the dune in July 2017.
By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
Except for minor to moderate flooding in low-lying areas, Downbeach communities and beaches were spared the wrath of Hurricane Ian earlier this week. The remnants of the hurricane that devastated the mid-section of the State of Florida lingered for days over New Jersey, bringing high winds, more than 6 inches of rain in certain areas and persistent tidal flooding. Grateful New Jerseyans praised the Sun when it finally showed its shiny face Thursday morning.
Ventnor reported no major damage but had lots of inconvenience during the storm, which brough tides that were more than a foot higher than normal. The usual low-lying places along the back bays, including Wellington and Dorset avenues, flooded and the Dorset Avenue bridge was rendered impassable during the midday high tides.
We had tons of flooding in the back bay area, which was an inconvenience for residents and motorists, Commissioner of Public Works Lance Landgraf said. But we didn't hear of any homes getting flood damage.
Landgraf said he has not receive any reports of damage caused to the beach, although the ocean waves reached the dune.
Mayor Nicholas Russo said Longport has not receive reports of damage to homes, but there was more than normal flooding along Sunset Avenue. There was some minor beach erosion between 11th and 16th avenues near the jetty.
The dunes held up well, he said. The bottom line is that we are surrounded by water on three sides.
He said there is plenty of beach for people to walk and that it is likely that over the winter months, Mother Nature will bring back the sand.
In Margate, Building Inspector Jim Galantino said a tide gauge at the Margate bridge indicated the tide was 5 feet above sea level at the height of the storm. Residents can view the tide gauge on the city's website, margate-nj.com, he said.
Supervisor of Public Works Frank Ricciotti said the beaches fared well during the storm. A week earlier Public Works crews removed all the trash receptacles from the beach.
With all the rain, I think it held a lot of sand in and packed it down, Ricciotti said. We didn't get any cliffs. Even at our pump stations, the tide alarms did not go off.
Administrator Richard Deaney said that the extensive stormwater drainage system installed on the beach by the NJ Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers worked well bringing stormwater to the ocean.
Following several years of fighting the installation of the sand dune on Margate's beach, city officials warned state and federal officials that because all the city's stormwater drained onto the beach, the dune would block the flow of water to the ocean. Their warnings were proven true after a rainstorm in July 2017 caused massive flooding behind the dune the first summer it was built. It took another year to complete the drainage system on the engineered beach.
We went though a long period of time with that beach fill controversy, but&could you imagine what those street ends at the ocean would have looked like at the scuppers bringing all that ocean water in? he said regarding the multi-million dollar drainage system. It would have been on the street ends at Atlantic Avenue.
That drainage system, as hard as everyone fought to get it&is a bonus. It works fantastic, he said.
The project included installing concrete inlets at street ends, emptying stormwater into a lateral pipe that spans the entirety of Margate's beach bulkhead. Five 630-feet-long, 48-inch outfall pipes beneath the sand drain the stormwater into the ocean.
Nearing the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Sandy, Commissioner of Public Safety John Amodeo, who was in Florida during Hurricane Ian, commended the city's first responders who are first to help with recovery efforts. Driving back from Florida on I-95 seeing caravans of electrical company trucks proves how great America is that everyone comes together in hard times to get everyone back to where they need to be, he said.
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