A beach replenishment project at Windward Beach Park in Brick Township was underway, with crews spreading sand taken from a local lagoon along the shore.
The sand will raise the grade of the beach, which is set on the Metedeconk River, and fill in several spots that have eroded in recent years. The “donor sand,” as it is sometimes called, has been removed from the Nejecho Lagoon, a residential waterway located downriver on the south bank, roughly off Mantoloking Road. The sand was environmentally tested and approved for beach use as part of the township’s permitting process for the lagoon dredging project.
Sand from the lagoon will be transported to Windward Beach and spread across the waterfront for several more days, at which point the beach will reopen to the public. But swimming will remain off-limits, Mayor John Ducey confirmed.
Beach replenishment at Windward Beach, Brick, N.J., June 2022. (Photo: Daniel Nee)
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Beach replenishment at Windward Beach, Brick, N.J., June 2022. (Photo: Daniel Nee)
Beach replenishment at Windward Beach, Brick, N.J., June 2022. (Photo: Daniel Nee)
The beach was closed to swimmers in 2020 indefinitely following rounds of closures due to above-normal levels of bacteria, primarily from waterfowl and runoff from storm sewers that empty into the Metedeconk. Fertilizer use has also raised the number of sea nettles – small, stinging jellyfish – at the park in recent years.
Shorebeat is planning a full, more expansive story on Windward Beach and its environmental challenges in the near future.
