Date: November 1, 2026 | Issue: 169

Faced with the threat of another nor’easter coming up the coast in mid-October, the dredge Delaware again left the Townsends Inlet for a safer harbor in the Great Egg inlet. The hiatus also allowed the crew to perform some needed maintenance on the ship.

The Delaware returned to Townsends Inlet on October 24 to complete the original project and to begin dredging a wider and deeper navigational channel on the east side of the Townsends Inlet bridge. This latter project, which took advantage of the Delaware’s presence in the Inlet to save almost $500,000, is a $1.6 million shared services arrangement between Avalon and Sea Isle City, with contributions totaling $300,000 from Cape May County and the County Bridge Commission.

The US Army Corps of Engineers’ contract with Norfolk Dredging Company originally called for approximately 946,000 cubic yards of sand to be spread on Avalon beaches between 9th and 25th streets. After the late September nor’easter caused further beach erosion, the Corps added another 100,000 cubic yards to the contract. Avalon’s north end beaches will also be the recipient of the 135,000 cubic yards of sand dredged from navigational channel. All told, then, by the time the Delaware pulls up anchor and heads south to start Stone Harbor’s beach replenishment, almost 1.2 million cubic yards of sand will have been pumped onto these 17 blocks of beach. This is the largest beach fill project in Avalon history. It should be more than enough to protect Avalon’s beaches over the winter and provide residents and visitors with a wide and pristine beachscape come Memorial Day.

The very latest information on the the project is available here on the Borough's website. .

Those opposed to the [beach replenishment] practice call it the ‘sand castle’ effect. Beach replenishment does not stop the natural forces of erosion, they argue; it masks them by rebuilding berms periodically and touching up engineered dunes.

It is true that beach nourishment projects are expensive and often all too temporary. But the argument that the best alternative is managed retreat from the coast is fraught as much with fantasy as it is with practical options for accomplishing that task.

In Cape May County alone, there is more than $104 billion in market value of real estate, $87 billion of which is on the barrier islands. In Cape May County alone, in 2025 there was a record $8.5 billion in visitor spending, more than 12 million visitors total, and an economy that supplied more than 42,000 jobs. Where does all that go in a “managed retreat?” The cost of such a realignment of the coast would be enormous.

Yes, it was ironic that the storm moved in while the Army Corps’ dredge was still in the waters working on replenishing the beaches. But that does not justify doing away with a strategy that has largely worked to maintain the coastline since 1936. Best estimates are that the cost over all the years of beach nourishment projects in the Garden State has been in the neighborhood of $3 billion, of which the federal share has been $2 billion.

With limited damage in September, including new areas of beach erosion, the berm and dune system not only protected property owners, it protected the federal government, which is the primary provider of flood insurance and the first port of call in major disaster funding.

The beach and berm system worked with this nor’easter. It did what it was designed to do. It protected lives and property. It also supported the economic value of the coast as an area of importance to millions of residents and visitors.

The nor’easter striking when it did is not proof that the process of beach replenishment should be ended. On the contrary, it was another example of the value of a process with a long-term track record of success, one that has maintained the New Jersey shoreline for decades.

When one seriously considers the other options dispassionately, the current replenishment strategy looks like a hands-down winner.

At the Avalon Borough Council meeting on October 14, Scott Taylor of Taylor Designs presented his plan for redesign of the playground area in Grace O’Brien Park on 8th Street. The Borough commissioned the redesign because the playground equipment was nearing the end of its useful life and did not provide broad accessibility for all ages and those with disabilities.

Taylor’s plan calls for the installation of all new fully-accessible playground equipment on top of a poured-in-place rubber surface. The existing gazebo will be torn down and replaced by a shaded pavilion with tables, chairs and security lighting. Adjacent to the playground, four bocce courts will be constructed along with a second shaded pavilion equipped with picnic tables.

Most trees will remain; those that are removed will be relocated elsewhere in the park. Invasive species of plants will be replaced with native ones, including a sensory garden area between the playground and the bocce courts.

The plan also includes a new storm water and irrigation system that is projected to significantly reduce water usage. Two accessible off-street parking spaces will be constructed on 8th Street near the park’s entrance.

The estimated cost of the improvements is $2.87 million. The Borough intends to apply to Cape May County for open space funds to offset some of the cost. Construction is expected to begin in early spring, with a target completion date of July 4, 2027.

It was announced in early October that the program to test pit all water service lines in the Borough in an effort to identify those that are made of lead and galvanized steel has resumed, and will focus on three neighborhoods in the north end of town. The testing and identification are mandated by both federal and state regulations, which also include the obligation to replace all lead and galvanized water service lines that are found.

The three areas where the Borough’s contractor, Ramone Construction, will be working this fall include (a) all properties west of the 21^st Street bridge, with the exception of those on 20th Street between Harbor and 6th avenues; (b) all properties west of the 25th Street bridge; and (c) all properties on 21st, 22nd and 23rd streets between Dune Drive and the beach.

The program, which carries an annual cost of nearly $1 million, will continue over the next several years until all Borough properties have been tested and all non-compliant water lines have been replaced. The Borough has assessed a $10 per quarter surcharge on every water meter in town to help defray the costs of the program.

More information on this statewide program is available here from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

Start off your Thanksgiving weekend with a vigorous 5K run through town or a less strenuous 1.5-mile walk on Friday, November 27. Advance online registration for the annual Avalon Turkey Trot is available here at the Diller Home website. Registration also will be available between 8 and 9:30 am on the day of the race at 30th Street and Avalon Avenue. The 5K run starts there at 10 am; the walk begins at 10:05 am. All proceeds benefit the Helen L. Diller Vacation Home for Blind Children.

Visit us on the Web at AHLOA.com or call 609.796.2491

The Avalon Home & Land Owners Association

Warren Faulk, President