MARGATE -- Terry Auerbach just shook her head as she looked at the pooling water between the newly constructed dunes and the bulkhead of her oceanfront home after a heavy rain fell on Monday.
"We want our beaches back," she said.
Residents say the dune work, part of the Army Corps of Engineers' beach replenishment project, has led to flooding and drainage issues on the north beaches between South Franklin Avenue and South Iroquois Avenue.
Auerbach, who has lived on South Exeter Avenue the last four years, first noticed the ponding after last weekend's storm.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers pumped the water over the dunes as a short term fix.
But Monday's rain brought back the ponding, or as some residents call it "Lake Christie," named affectionately after the governor who ordered the construction of a dune system and called the residents of Margate 'selfish' for protesting it.
Josh Schwartz, a resident of Margate for 30 years, joined Auerbach at the end of Exeter Avenue to look at the flooding.
"The dunes are protecting the city of Margate against a theoretical natural disaster in the long term," he said. "In the short term who's protecting us from them, the government."
The dune replenishment is being done in 1,000-foot sections. When completed the beaches in Margate will be 100 feet wide with dunes 13 feet tall.
Last Thursday Superior Court Judge Julio Mendez ordered a seven-day stay of the dune project due to the health and safety of the residents and concerns that the ponds were contaminated. The case has now advance to federal court and a phone conference is schedule for today at noon.
Tim Hawk may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @photogthawk. Find NJ.com on Facebook.