Worth a thousand words: Pre- and post-blizzard Ortley Beach

You've heard repeatedly about shore damage whipped up by the blizzard of January 22-23. You either agreee, or disagree, about uniform dune reinforcement for the Jersey coast. Before-and-after images of Ortley Beach, where there is no permanent solution, offer a stark impression of the tightrope some residents walk.

Longtime Ortley resident Ken Langdon, who's argued for dune reinforcement for many years with Toms River elected officials, distributed the snapshots in his most recent newsletter and musings about life on the barrier island.

Ortley's dunes were built largely through sand trucked in by Earle Asphalt, which has a running contract since the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.

Public Works teams under the direction of department head Lou Amoruso began reinforcing them through autumn, then went into high gear about two weeks before the storm, scarfing the beach with front-end loaders.

The image on the left was taken one day before the storm; on the right, one day after.

Inspecting the beach Monday, Township Engineer Bob Chankalian said, "Our dunes are depleted pretty much down to five percent of what they should be."  Pressed for a description, he explained, "It's about 4,000 truckloads of sand. About 4,000 dump trucks."

He estimated the cliff to the beach to be about nine feet from the boardwalk.

In Langdon's description, during the four high tides, "there was a loss in the depth of the dunes of approximately 60 to 70 feet.," sparking fears of a total breach that, ultimately, didn't take place. Earle began moving equipment the day after the blizzard to begin replacing sand.

Chankalian admits that the arrangement can't be a permanent solution."The Army Corps is really the only sustainable project," he said. "Meantime, we have to protect our roads, boardwalk, sewers and so forth." And, of course, residents.

The massive project envisioned by state and federal officials after the Superstorm has splintered into tribal turf wars with some well-considered points about effectiveness, long-term sustainability, property rights, and fears of government intrusion.

Add to this that none of the Army Corps plans address flooding from the bayfront, which is a major point of contention among beach-buttressed communities such as Bay Head and Mantoloking that still experience flooding from the opposite end.

A tour of Ortley by Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno and other notables this week produced a great deal of heated rhetoric about the need for the project. But in Langdon's view, "Nothing that was said would lead to any optimism."

Eminent domain proceedings, such as those being faced in Bay Head and other communities, are still considered a last resort in Toms River, and meetings aimed at averting it continue.

In a coda that could mean either attending meetings or shore restoration, Langdon signed off with, "We'll be back."