Army Corps partners with community for first line of coastal defense 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season By JoAnne Castagna, Ed.D.
Hurricane Isaias stormed up the east coast of the United States in early August, bringing heavy rain and winds up to 85 mph to the shores of flood-prone Port Monmouth, New Jersey. Immediately, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District reached out to the community to find out how they were doing and how its flood risk management project was working. Port Monmouth Resident, Charles Rogers responded, "The system of tide gates and pump stations allowed all of the streets that normally flood under these conditions to drain properly. Port Monmouth fared well in the storm." Ted Maloney, Township Engineer for Middletown, New Jersey also responded, "It was good to see the system in action and performing as designed. This is empirical evidence that the Army Corps floodgate and pumps worked swimmingly." This type of responsive communication between the Army Corps and the communities it serves is nothing new, especially with flood risk management projects. This doesn't happen just when a storm hits, it takes place throughout the entire project process. The Port Monmouth Flood Risk Manage - ment Project is just one perfect example. The project that is undergoing construction is the community of Port Monmouth, along the northern New Jersey coast along the Raritan and Sandy Hook Bays in Monmouth County. The area has been battered by flooding, blizzards and major storms for years, especially by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, that destroyed 750 homes and businesses. "Sandy placed almost four feet of water in my house and six feet in my cellar and we lost our heating, electric, food and personal items," said Rogers who has lived in Port Monmouth for 82 years and has weathered his share of storm events. These storms have eroded much of the natural beachfront and dune com- plexes that provide coastal protection to the community from storm surge.
The goal of this project is to help reduce the risk of flooding throughout the entire community. The Army Corps is performing this work in partnership with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Bureau of Coastal Engineering, as well as with the local community. William Dixon, Director of Coastal Engineering, New Jersey Depart - ment of Environmental Protection said, "We have a long-standing, strong partnership with the Army Corps and work on a lot of projects with them. Partnership and collaboration are one of the reasons why New Jersey, the Army Corps, and local municipalities has been so successful in implementing so many projects, including the Port Mon - mouth project that is a very complex one." Work that was completed to date includes building up and widening the shoreline along the Sandy Hook Bay by replenishing sand and con - structing a new stone groin perpendicular to the shoreline. A groin structure extends out from the shore into the water and inter - rupts water flow and limits the movement of sand, to prevent beach erosion and increase resiliency. In addition, a 15-foot high protective dune was constructed that spans a mile and a half long. Dunes provide a natural barrier to the destructive forces of wind and waves. While constructing the dune, residents of a beachside condominium complex expressed to the Army Corps that they were concerned that the dune would obstruct their access to the beach. David Gentile, project manager, New York District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said, "We met with the condo's board members and other agency team members on several occasions to discuss options, get and provide feedback, and review plans. In the end, we received a neces - sary easement that allowed us to construct a walking path to provide The new flood gate and pump station operation at the Port Monmouth Flood Risk Management Project. Photo: USACE
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June 2021
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