WE’VE COME A long way since Super Storm Sandy, an ironic name for something that destroyed our shores. But although the recovery is not complete, the annual State of the Shore could not have been sunnier.
Bob Martin, commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection, referred to the state of our shoreline as “outstanding’’ stressing that the water quality is “excellent” and the beaches are in great shape. And that encompasses the entire 127-mile shore- line. To its credit, the DEP, in conjunction with the US Army Corps of Engineers, has completed eight large, federally funded repair projects totaling more than $345 million. And another $38 million has been allocated to continue beach replenishment in Monmouth County alone.
That’s good news for lots of reasons beyond aesthetics. A wider beach can withstand far more from storms and protects coastal residents and businesses from flooding. Only one small portion of Sea Bright beach in the northern section near Sandy Hook has lost more than half of its sand while other beaches in the coastal borough are wider than ever.
So kudos to Dr. Jon Miller, a coastal processes specialist and research assistant professor at Stevens Institute of Technology for trying to find the cause of the curious erosion pattern. Miller promises to bring a group of students from Stevens this summer to study the problem, which he says harkens back to as long ago as when Sandy Hook was actually an island. He’s sure that the answer may be in the 1700s and 1800s history maps of Sea Bright’s coast. Those maps show the river broke through that very same section. Miller says there is a link and wants to find why that inlet “wants to be there.”
Good luck professor. You’re saving expensive short-term solutions that haven’t proven successful. Maybe nature should take its course, but Professor Miller’s work will hopefully guide us to the answers.
