Some are calling the recent dune announcement a big win for Margate. Others believe any agreement with the NJ DEP & Army Corp of Engineers is simply a deal with the devil.
According to representatives from the City of Margate, Mayor Michael Becker and attorney Jordan Rand, the Army Corp plans to extend the current beach project well into 2018.
In addition to finishing the messy and error-prone dune and beach widening project, the State of NJ will direct the Army Corp of Engineers to install an elaborate system of pipes and drainage pipe under the beach & dunes.
Margate Outfall Project: pump contaminated storm water from the streets, thru buried pipes, and spewed directly into the surf and bathing areas.
How risky and problematic can outfall pipes be? Lifeguards in Rehoboth Beach struggle to keep kids away from the rusty iron pipes. Sometimes, heavy storm water has no where to go during downpours. The water pressure was so intense, it popped the sewer caps, dislocated their concrete bases and washed away the surrounding dirt/sand.
According to Margate Mayor, Michael Becker, the approximately $10 million outfall & drainage system is a ‘big gain & big win’ for Margate. Others strongly disagree.
Resident Chuck Cavanaugh from the group Margate Citizens Questioning the Beach Project told CBS 3 -TV: “The pipes are a solution to a problem we didn’t have”.
An outfall pipe system was a critical reason why dune were fought against from the beginning.
Margate begrudgingly gets this new drainage system, but at a cost. In exchange for a Federal taxpayer funded outfall drainage system, Margate will be forced to sign a long term agreement with the State of New Jersey. A few large questions remain. Who’ll be responsible for future maintenance and repair of this outfall system?
Mayor Becker says Margate residents don’t have to fear future tax hikes when the state wants to do beach replenishment every 3 to 5 years. “Actually the state aid agreement says in specific wording that we will not have to pay for any future replenishments,” says Becker.
This agreement is still in negotiations. It could be signed by the end of the Sept 2017. The Margate outfall pipes system could be in place by next summer. These are all hypotheticals. With the State & Army Corp having almost no accountability, Margate residents have little confidence that this additional beach work will go smoothly over the winter, and finish well before Memorial Day 2018.