Environmental Commission presents case for Scow Ditch flood barrier

Automated gate, pump station, living shoreline eyed to reduce flooding

Originally published to the Ocean Star on May 1, 2026

BAY HEAD — Construction of an integrated flood gate and pump station at the mouth of Scow Ditch has been tentatively selected as a preferred plan for reducing flooding in the borough, according to Collier’s Engineering and Design Project Manager Ian R. Walczak announced at the April 14 meeting of the Bay Head Environmental Commission (BHEC).

For several years, the environmental commission has been working to ease the effects of flooding in the area through civil engineering projects such as flood barriers, bulkhead maintenance and replacement, tidal gauge installation, storm drain repairs and perhaps most notably, the creation of the Barrier Island Flood Consortium.

The consortium is made up of mayors of 10 municipalities along the northern barrier island in Ocean County who aim to tackle challenges rooted in their shared coastal geography, according to Bay Head Borough Administrator Frank Pannucci. The towns are Point Pleasant Borough, Point Pleasant Beach, Bay Head, Mantoloking, Brick Township, Toms River, Lavallette, Seaside Heights, Seaside Park and Berkeley Township.

The Tuesday meeting featured a speaker from Collier’s Engineering and a team of multidisciplinary engineers, architects, designers and project managers whom the commission has employed through grants and fundraisers for engineering projects.

The presentation included an overview of the work that has already been completed, the goals of upcoming projects, as well as alternative projects considered, and it culminated in a tentatively selected plan for the future.

Seven alternatives considered

The commission considered seven alternative methods for long-term flood mitigation, including various locations for pump stations and flood gates as well as flood barriers and living shorelines. Ultimately, it was decided that the fourth alternative, an integrated flood gate and pump station at the mouth of Scow Ditch, was the preferred plan.

The preferred plan combines ongoing efforts of the BHEC and Colliers, which began with two Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grants, described as FEMA #1 and FEMA #2 respectively. In 2025, the commission received FEMA #1, totaling $1,087,000 to begin work on designs and engineering for the Scow Ditch gate and pump station as well as the living shoreline design. FEMA #2, also totaling $1,087,000, funds the construction of higher bulkheads (flood walls) at key street ends and upgrades to the storm drain system.

Information on FEMA.gov is limited, as the official FEMA website is no longer regularly updated. “Due to the lapse in federal funding, this website will not be actively managed,” a pop-up on fema.gov said. “This website was last updated on Feb. 17, 2026, and will not be updated until after funding is enacted.”

Scow Ditch in Bay Head has been the subject of much of the commission’s research, as it serves as a major junction between Twilight Lake and Barnegat Bay.

Commission Chairman Dennis Blazak explained at the Feb. 21 monthly meeting of the commission that mitigating flooding at this point is vital in order to block surge water from entering Bay Head through Barnegat Bay.

The tentatively selected plan combines a submerged automated flood gate and pump station at Scow Ditch with a living shoreline retrofit along Twilight Lake and a flood barrier along West Lake Avenue.

Living shoreline eyed

A living shoreline is a method of land stabilization that protects the shoreline from erosion. According to the American Littoral Society, there are many different living shoreline techniques, yet they all generally employ natural or biodegradable materials such as stones, sand and logs. These materials are typically used in conjunction with planting of native species in order to stabilize the shoreline, foster habitat and improve the aesthetics of an area. The flood barrier will be a bottom-hinge gate that remains submerged at the bottom of the waterway and is raised into position when flood conditions occur to keep excess water from moving from Barnegat Bay into Twilight Lake.

This plan was selected because in the hydrodynamic models used by Colliers to predict tidal patterns, this plan showed the best overall performance for completeness, effectiveness, and regulatory acceptability, while supporting US Army Corps of Engineers, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and NJ Department of Environmental Protection resilience objectives, according to Colliers.

The submerged automated flood gate was the chosen design because it remains submerged during normal conditions, allowing tidal exchange, fish passage and navigation, and automatically closes during surge events to block saltwater intrusion from Barnegat Bay.

“Together with the West Lake Avenue flood barrier and borough-wide bulkhead raises to +4.5 NAVD88, the project closes major protection gaps and provides flood protection against surge up to and over the 10-year return period event,” Colliers said.

NAVD88 refers to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988, which is a standard fixed point that is used to measure tide levels throughout North America. Tide levels are denoted by how far above or below the datum they appear. +4.5 NAVD88 refers to a point that is 4.5 feet above the datum.

“We have learned a lot along the way about the interaction of weather patterns, winds and tide between Bay Head, Barnegat Bay, and the Atlantic Ocean and how they affect our town nestled between the two,” Walczak said. “We are equally happy the Bay Head Environmental Commission’s own years of observations and studies have been validated and refined with scientific data, models and calculations by the world’s leading scientists and engineers in the field of hydrology and flood mitigation.”

Walczak said the FEMA grants allowed Colliers and the commission to validate and delineate the benefit that a flood gate will provide to the town.

“The leadership of Bay Head is at the forefront of back-bay flood mitigation in New Jersey; thanks to the mayor and council, with support from our Congressional leadership, an initial concept from the BHEC has turned into a feasible ready-to-build project,” he said.