Tide Gates, Levees, Floodwalls Being Considered for Jersey Shore Bay Flooding

A man sits beside a levee on Lake Pontchartrain, New Orleans, La. (Credit: James Joel/ Flickr)

State officials said Wednesday that a number of technologies, including tide gates, levees, floodwalls and physical storm-surge barriers, are under consideration for New Jersey’s back bay areas to prevent flooding.

The news came as the state Department of Environmental Protection said it would hold two meetings with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers “on a comprehensive flood-risk mitigation study for the state’s back-bay areas.”

A wave crashes over a bulkhead in Seaside Park, N.J., Oct. 30, 2017. (Photo: Daniel Nee)

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The Army Corps, in partnership with the DEP, is nearing completion of extensive construction of a statewide system of ocean beaches and dunes to meet federal protection standards. The objective of the Army Corps’ New Jersey Back Bays Coastal Storm Risk Management Study is to develop strategies to protect coastal communities against flooding from bays, rivers, creeks, lagoons, coastal lakes and other tidal shorelines, the DEP said in a statement.

The meetings will be held in in Ventnor, Atlantic County, and Toms River, Ocean County.

A tide gate manufactured by Waterman Inc. (Photo: Waterman)

In addition to the hard flood barriers, officials are also considering ecosystem-based solutions such as marsh restoration, beach and dune restoration, and the creation of living shorelines – areas planted with native marsh grasses and shellfish to provide natural flood buffers.

The first meeting will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Sept. 12 at the Ventnor Educational Community Complex, 400 North Lafayette Ave., Ventnor. The second meeting will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Sept. 13 at the Ocean County College Gateway Building, Lot 1 off College Drive, Toms River.