The Atlantic City Council, Wednesday evening, heard an earful from residents who live along Bull Creek, north of 14th to Ed Podolak Drive. Property owners urged the Council to do something about erosion along Bull Creek that is eating into their back yards. Parks and Recreation Department Director Bryant Rassmussen told the Council he has calculated that based on the velocity and density of the water passing through Bull Creek, the bank has eroded 3.91-inches. The problem was exacerbated by recent heavy rains that caused extensive run-off and flooding.

Snyder and Associates Engineer Dave Sturm said the last study of Bull Creek he’s aware of, was done in the 1990’s. Rasmussen said he personally met with City Administrator John Lund and showed him the damage that’s being done. Some of the damage include to the Bull Creek Pathway, where holes have developed that could be a major liability to the City.

Mayor Dave Jones said the matter would have to be turned over to the Community Development Committee, working in conjunction with Snyder and Associates, to come up with an official engineer’s report, and a possible solution. Rasmussen said his education and experience should be taken into consideration when it comes to taking action on the matter. He said he’s been in contact with the Army Corps of Engineers, talking about how the Bull Creek area can be fixed, and that they have given him a verbal commitment to move forward, but he just needs to fill out a joint application.

Mayor Jones said the City has talked with the Corps before, and some ideas (such as a covered culvert) were “shot down.” One resident asked the Mayor how much of her back yard has to flow down Bull Creek before the City takes action instead of running in circles. Jones said “Sometimes it takes a while to get studies done…we’ve been working on things for years. There are some things we can do and some things we can’t do.” Another resident who has lived in the area for 25-years, said he has seen five-feet of his back yard erode into the creek.

Councilman Chris Jimerson suggested the City could use rip-rap as a temporary fix. Rasmussen said one of the solutions is to install native plants that allow the water to percolate into the soil, rather than create run-off. Another solution that has been presented before but not acted on, is to remove some of the dead trees in order to stabilize the bank and shape of the creek.