Pelican Island Residents May Return to Homes Before New Year

TOMS RIVER–Pelican Island, situated between Toms River and Seaside Heights lies beyond the causeway leading to the hard hit northern barrier island.  Hurricane Sandy downed telephone poles and flooded the small island, but today, Toms River Mayor Tom Kelaher said residents may be able to return home before the New Year.

Electricity and sewer are presently restored to the homes in Pelican Island and NJ Natural Gas has indicated that they expect all of the gas meters to be reset by 12/19/12 according to the mayor.

Kelaher said, “We are waiting on NJ American Water to finish up with their projects.  Currently, the water is not suitable to drink, but they are beginning water quality samples this week to test the bacteria present in the water supply.”

Kelaher noted that Toms River has submitted a formal request through the County Office of Emergency Management, which has been hand-delivered to the Governor’s office, asking to permit the re-population.  Pending approval, residents of Pelican Island will hopefully be allowed to move back into their homes within the next few days.

Photo-Aerial view of Pelican Island three weeks after Hurricane Sandy. Photo by Phil Stilton, Ocean Signal.

Posted by Ocean County News on Dec 18 2012. Filed under Community, Headline News, In the News, Toms River. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.