Beach Pumping

The sand pumping has been a problem for NJ even prior to the replenishment in Long Branch. Sea Bright used to have some great spots and once they pumped sand, they never broke right again. I think they could have come up with an alternative; not only did it ruin the surf but it also killed marine life and created some heavy rip tides.

I know that making the beaches bigger leads to more tourists, which in turn is more money for the town..... But this is getting out of control. When they first pumped the sand on to the beach in Sea Bright you would walk in to the water and it would be an immediate drop off. I was a lifeguard in Sea Bright for 6 years and it seemed we had more problems when they "dredged" the beaches due to the rip tides and sand collapsing under peoples feet. It looks like they have modified their technique since then, now they pump in one spot and let the sand naturally distribute the beaches to the north (cause thats the way the current flows). Great idea, but still didn't do anything for us!!! With all the money they spend on beach replenishment, you would think they could spend some money to think of a better plan!

 

Hey, Ive been surfing for 11 years, and im only 16 years old. i live around sea bright nj and thats where i wish i could surf. 8 years ago, i would be able to surf there, but since they pumbed the beach we have lost all our jettis and even on the biggest days, the waves are still only breaking out 5 or 10 feet. on a sucking up shore break, which is impossible to ride. Now everytime i go surfing, i have to ride my bike to long branch with a surfboard in my hand to go surfing. its a 11 mile ride for me which takes about an hour and a half. Im comepletely against beach pumping and hopefully they never do it again!

 

There seems to be some permitting issues as to the type/orientation of structure that could be used as per the rules and regs dealing with the subtidal areas.
And then there is liability issues involved, that the municipalities, feds., and state are not readily volunteering themselves for; for a good reason, since everyone is ready to sue. If people are going to sue because they dropped in on a close out in the shorebreak that they shouldn't have been on and whacked their head, then they are going to sue if they wiped out on the reef and whacked their head.

If it is going to be done, I am betting that consideration needs to be taken to ensure that the reef isn't going to increase the waves to a point that it increases erosion and makes the 'neighbors' situation worse....Kinda defeats the purpose of the shore protection.. And based on recent findings (failures due to materials/wave climate/etc.), I also think that there is some skepticism as to the fact that they really work and/or will last...I guess it depends on the specific environment and wave climate, etc. The jury still seems to be out on that..

 

NEver

This is my first post, I felt compelled to write since this is a subject I am very passionate about.

Sandy Hook, Long Branch, North Monmouth County...

These are all examples of how beach replenishment has had a negative effect on the overall beach quality for the benefit of those few individuals who decided to build to close to the ocean (really bright!)

I have been surfing for 18 years and Sandy Hook could not be compared to. By far, it was when of the best places to be when there was swell. After the replenishment, the 200 yards of sand has done nothing but protect the grass that grows there. What a waste of funds, I agree that some of the money should go towards research and development of alternatives-something that is always discussed but never acted upon.

Here are some before and after pictures of the Hook...

 

Where'd the pics go?...they we good shots..

 

Ooops..they're back...

 

One of the issues is that the effect of pumping on surf breaks and bottom contours is temporary - temporary in a geological context. If unmodified again - it will go back to the way it was, but over a period of many years. We live on a human time scale - so about the time that Mother Nature has rearranged the sand closer to original specs, and the surf starts breaking again - along comes the pumping and the breaks are destroyed again. The result is that along any coastline that receives periodic pumping - most of the time the beaches are in "recovery" mode and not breaking properly.

One very real issue that I have noted for Delmarva surfers has been the crowding that has occurred in the past few years at the few remaining/recovered spots that are still breaking - particularly in the DE portion of this coast.

 

Cape may has suffered as well from beach replenishment.

 

I agree, I can remember maybe around 3 years ago I could find a handful of spots that would have a handful of people, and about 5 years ago you could surf crickets with a couple others on some of the best swells.

 

Hey those are my Sandy Hook pics ! LBNJ Local, remember some of those breaks going right into the seawall in Seabright? Remember the Ship Ahoy Jetty? Great fishing although I never looked there on a swell. There were a ton of great spots with no parking so you had to park and walk to get to them. Lots of great spots with no beach, no beach goers and no crowds. I had a lot of people yell at me over the years because I parked in front of their house.

 

A split hull dredge can get into shallow enough water to dump its load straight into the near shore and form a sand bar that would quickly form bars that would break at most tides with a bit of swell. Pumping out of the hopper dredges could be also be done in shallow enough water to accomplish that.

technical difficulties arent the reason they dont do it.

The engineers i've talked to that are involved in these projects completely recognize the benefits of creating near shore sand bars which would both protect the dry beach during storms, and reduce the shorepound that swimmers, lifeguards, and surfers (in that order of priority, by the way) have come to hate.

But they dont design these projects that way and the reason they dont do it is simple political fear that they will be accused of spending money on something you cant "see". People already accuse the projects of being a waste of money because the sand just washes away. Imagine how much grief they would get if they didnt even put the sand on the beach in the first plase...no matter how much sense it makes. Local politicians and chambers of commerce want to see a HUGE WIDE DRY BEACH for the millions of dollars they spend. Thousands of tourists fat butts on sand is the reason you they spend the millions of dollars pumping sand up on huge beaches rather than using a design that benefits swimmers, surfers and other users.

 

Mitchell, that is a great point that makes me kinda sick to my stomach.

 

I wish i surfed during those sandy hook days. The pics look sick

 

I'm heading out to sea isle tomorrow so i'll let you guys know it's breaking down there.

 

In hindsight it was sick, too bad I didn't know how sick at the time .

 

beach pumping destroyed my break in virginia beach. Well sorta. They put this drainage run off 1000 feet of the beach, and now the northend is all shore break, even on big swells, reminds me of the obx. Its whateva tho, both its pluss, and disadvandeges. Super tubes= mass of broken boards

 

Several sand pumpings over the past 15 years have destroyed the quality, quanity and character of surf breaks along the Ocean City coastline and are in the process of doing the same in Delaware. The engineers have been to the till a couple of times and have depleted the source of matching sands so things will only get worse. Personally, I'd like to see groins every two to three blocks again.

 

oh man the memories

Ship Ahoy jetty = Logs! What a great wave that was when the sand was right. That whole stretch of beach from Sandy Hook - Brothers would fire pretty often. I started surfing in 1988, at anchorage in SB and on the regular til they did the sand project in 96, I can remember some spots waking up during the pumping...Little Hawaii, sickest right dredgers, Brothers... great times!

 

Thanks Mitchell for the explanation.

I have always thought, without knowing for sure, that sand bar creation was entirely feasible as well as entirely desirable, and as such I had no idea why it wasn't done.

It is unfortunate that politicians have such a tin ear about this. I spent a considerable amount of time on vacation this year driving from north Ocean City Maryland to the south end because my youngest daughter loves swimming in the ocean where there is a sand bar.

Exposing swimmers to the dangers of a shore break for cosmetic reasons is unconscionable.

 

We should organize a protest and demand the better option for pumping next time they try to pump our beaches.