N.J. beaches are in excellent condition ahead of Memorial Day, officials say. But they warn of cuts to federal data collection

This story is part of the WHYY News Climate Desk, bringing you news and solutions for our changing region.

From the Poconos to the Jersey Shore to the mouth of the Delaware Bay, what do you want to know about climate change? What would you like us to cover? Get in touch.

New Jersey officials have some good news for beachgoers this year.

“Our coastal monitoring programs data indicates that water quality is excellent,” said New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette.

But that data is threatened by Trump administration cuts to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, the agency that collects data used in weather predictions.

“It’s concerning,” said Jon Miller, associate professor at Stevens Institute of Technology and author of the 2025 “State of the Shore” report released Thursday by the New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium. “The data that we’ve relied on for our report have so far been still available,” Miller said. “Without that data it’s really difficult, if not impossible to plan and construct good projects, it’s impossible for communities to prepare.”

Miller and LaTourette spoke Thursday at the release of the 23rd annual report in Asbury Park.

LaTourette emphasized the water quality monitoring, beach replenishment and coastal resiliency programs rely on a mix of state and federal funding and coordination with agencies like the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

“That work of both protecting our shoreline and ensuring our water quality is not a work of magic,” LaTourette said. “It happens because of the hard work and collaboration of all of these parties who come together in ways large and small to make sure that we’re consistently improving upon our water quality and enhancing our coastal resources.”

“These small, sometimes seemingly, invisible acts are critical to ensuring that our coast here, along the Jersey shore and our lake shores are able to host visitors,” LaTourette said.

FEMA grants aimed at bolstering coastal infrastructure and protecting communities from climate related flooding and sea level rise have been cut, leaving some New Jersey projects in limbo, including a flood mitigation project in Ocean City.

“That’s not wasteful government spending, that’s investment in the good health of our people and the security of our coastal and riverine economies,” LaTourette said.

Beach replenishment projects in New Jersey are conducted by the Army Corps of Engineers, which so far have not been impacted by federal cuts.

But loss of data from NOAA buoys that measure wave height for example, or tide gauges that measure sea level rise, could have “dramatic impacts to coastal communities,” Miller said.

“Understanding the condition that the beaches are in, being able to model and predict what the future is going to look like, alert communities to when coastal flooding is gonna occur … all of those things are dependent on resources from the National Weather Service, the National Hurricane Center, and NOAA at large,” Miller said.

Sea level rise is happening at a faster rate in New Jersey than the global average, in part because the state is also sinking. The ocean has already risen 18 inches since 1900 on the Jersey Coast.

Mild winter spared Jersey beaches from significant erosion

The lack of storms and serious flooding this past winter prevented severe beach erosion, according to Miller.

“This past winter we were fortunate in that, between Atlantic City and Sandy Hook, there was only one moderate flooding event that occurred,” Miller said.

The three ingredients needed to do serious beach damage include elevated water levels, large waves and storm duration, explained Miller, all of which are dependent upon NOAA’s data collection.

“We looked at wave records maintained by the National Data Buoy Center, which is a NOAA operation,” he said.

NOAA also uses data for hurricane season predictions, which is expected to be more active than usual with 17 named storms, nine hurricanes and four major hurricanes.

While Thursday’s rainy weather prevented the annual fly-over along the coast, DEP says it will conduct regular surveillance flights to monitor water quality along the ocean beaches as well as look for harmful algal blooms in the state’s lakes. Water quality updates are posted on the state’s website.

Scheduled beach replenishment projects were completed in Cape May and Absecon Island, while projects in northern Ocean County and Long Beach Island continue.