Up to 10 Ventnor blocks of beaches could be negatively affected for Summer 2020. Too wide dunes and substantial erosion now taking up most…and sometimes ALL, of the usable beaches south of the Ventnor Pier.
This problem is most prevalent between the Ventnor Pier and the end of the boardwalk at Fredericksburg Ave.
Ventnor beach erosion has reduced amount of usable beach at high tides.
South of Ventnor Pier could be a problem during Summer 2020. Commissioner Landgraf warned that potentially 6 to10 blocks could be affected.
What to do ? Wait for a beach replenishment. Might happen Fall 2020 or maybe Spring 2021. Can never really trust the NJ DEP or the Army Corp of Engineers.
Note: Funds for the dredging and and pumping must be Federally authorized every 3-year cycle. Locally, Ventnor contributes almost $500,000 during each replenishment cycle.
Fed funding not there yet. Money could be held up as long as NJ considers itself a Sanctuary State?
Neighbors concerned about the lack of beach during high tides. Non-critical dunes and dead-zones (between dune and boardwalk) take up too much of potential, usable beach.
Reduce some Ventnor dunes in order to create usable beach?
Some are thinking out of the box. Maybe the dunes along the southern beaches of Ventnor should be reduced or removed? Are the high & wide dunes in that spot really needed. Many think they do more harm than good.
Residents will need to use other Ventnor beaches when high tides reach the dune.
Grin and bear it. Not much Ventnor City leaders can do. Ventnor can trim the dune grass, though.
Resident Rich Gober reminded everyone that we can’t see the ocean from many parts of the Ventnor and Atlantic City Boardwalk.
Ventnor must have a usable beach at high tide.
20 years ago this year Dr. Norbert Psuty dean of NJ’s Coastal Geologists at Rutgers Coastal Institute in Sandy Hook stood on Ventnor’s Boardwalk with me and told me that the southern end of Ventnor’s beaches would always have erosion issues because of the underlying geology of the area and partially because of Ventnor Pier acting as a large groin slowing the current. After the beach project came to Ventnor nothing changed and the area still eroded. Ventnor’s leaderships over the next 15 yrs. blamed Margate for the erosion, claiming because we hadn’t joined the Beach Project it was causing the erosion. Of course it was all nonsense. Margate has now been in the Project for years and the erosion in Ventnor south of the Pier is unrelenting. Who will they blame now?
The army corps could come in with bulldozers at low tide and move sand back up on the beach that is only visible at low tide. This could be a quick temporary fix for this year. After beach replenishment next year the only permanent fix would be a permanent rock jetty at the south end of Ventnor
AGREE with David Snyder. That was what Ventnor or The Army Corp ( forgot who actually did the leveling of the dunes & the spreading the sand around ) did previously in the Winter – Spring of 2004 – 2005 , when the first Ventnor Dune pumped in the winter – spring of 2003 – 2004 was wipe out by fall & winter storms 2004 – 2005, from Richards Avenue to Fredericksburg Avenue. Come Memorial Day Weekend of 2005 all beaches were wide and had room for all that wanted to go to beaches all the way to the Margate end of Ventnor at both low & high tide. Hope History can repeat in time for Memorial Day weekend of 2020.