Letter: Experts illogical about barrier breach
Breach caused by superstorm Sandy on Fire Island (March 9, 2013) Credit: Doug Kuntz
Those "experts" who declare that the breach at Old Inlet "has nothing to do with what's going on in the bay" in terms of water levels betray either a profound lack of logic, or worse, an agenda at odds with the facts ["Experts: Don't fill the breach," News, March 24].
I could accept for reasoned debate a position that suggested little effect on the water levels, but to say it has no effect is not reasonable.
Can we all agree on these points? The bay flooding after superstorm Sandy has been unprecedentedly frequent and severe. Although small, the new breach directly connects the Atlantic Ocean and the Great South Bay. Barrier beaches like Fire Island partially protect bays from ocean tidal surges.
If the statements above are true, then the loss of any barrier beach means more extreme tides in the bay; to argue otherwise makes no sense.
Richard Harty, Babylon
