Erosion & shoreline
Riprap and rock revetment in LBI & Southern Ocean County, NJ
Tier C · 18 towns covered
Graded stone over filter fabric to armor an exposed bay edge or the toe of a failing wall — favored where wave energy is high or a vertical wall isn't permitted.
If this is what your wall is doing, you're not the first owner on this stretch of bay to run into it.
How this normally shows up
- A spot where a hard wall is not permitted but protection is needed
- A marsh or bay edge retreating toward the house
- Wave action undercutting the toe of an existing bulkhead
- A shoreline with no wall that is steadily losing ground
The usual approach
Riprap — graded stone laid over filter fabric on a shaped slope — absorbs wave energy instead of reflecting it, and it is often the approach favoured on open, exposed bay edges or where a vertical wall cannot be permitted. It can armour the toe of a failing bulkhead or protect an unwalled shoreline outright. Sizing the stone to the fetch and tide is the part that matters.
$5,000 – $40,000 — typical range, not a quote. What your home needs can only be settled by a registered contractor who comes out and looks at it.
Permitting sets the timeline here. Work on tidal water needs an NJDEP waterfront development or CAFRA approval and tidelands documentation on top of the municipal permit — often longer than the build itself. A crew that works these waters should walk you through what your lot needs.
Unsure how urgent this really is?
Note down what you've spotted. We'll pass it to registered local crews and get out of your way.
Tell us what's happening →Coverage
Towns we cover for this
Only the areas where this work actually applies.
Open bayfront
Mainland and bay-edge shorelines with real fetch, where wave energy is high and riprap comes up as often as a vertical wall.
Barrier island & inlet
Long Beach Island end to end, from Barnegat Inlet down to Holgate — high exposure, salt air, working waterfront, and the biggest replacement jobs.
Northern barrier island & bay
The northern barrier island strip — Lavallette and Ortley Beach — where the work sits on the bay side and takes fetch straight across open Barnegat Bay from the west.