Island Beach State Park
Sanitary Sewer System

Island Beach State Park offers a unique natural environment for the one million beachgoers who visit annually. Currently managed by the Division of Parks and Forestry under the Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), the ten-mile-long, 3,000-acre park only has a handful of structures, making it the largest reserve of undeveloped barrier island in New Jersey.

The few buildings located in the park include maintenance buildings, bath houses, state police barracks, and the official Governor’s Ocean Residence, which were all previously supported by individual septic systems. Since the septic systems were at the end of their expected useful life, LAN Associates and CP Engineers were retained by the NJ Division of Property Management and Construction (DPMC) to provide a long-term sanitary sewerage conveyance system. LAN’s team worked alongside CP Engineers to design a state-of-the-art sanitary sewer system. Due to the significant variation in daily and seasonal flows, a vacuum system was chosen over a traditional “force main” system. With a force main system, the lines tend to go anaerobic during times of low/no flow, leading to odor concerns and issues at the treatment plant. With a vacuum system, the operator can control flows, even during times of low/no flow, without the need for chemical treatment. The final design includes over seven miles of buried pipe, two vacuum stations with emergency backup generators, dozens of lateral connections, valve pits, and more.

In addition to the challenging technical design, Island Beach State Park is a very ecologically sensitive area, and the project required an extensive list of regulatory approvals and NJDEP Land Use permits. LAN’s team worked with numerous state and local entities to obtain 12 individual permits and approvals to address concerns about the local wildlife and historic structures.