Ortley Residents Still Rallying for Water Tower Dolphins

Ortley Beach residents are still upset over the decision made by New Jersey American Water Company to replace the Ortley Beach neighborhood name and jumping dolphin image on a local water tower with a corporate logo.

The water company replaced the Ortley Beach inscription and dolphins on one side of the tower, but not the other, so traffic coming to Ortley Beach from Route 37 will now only see the NJAW logo.

On Tuesday, a number of residents came out with signs to protest to decision by the water company.

Toms River Patch was first to report on the issue, which crept up by surprise after the dolphins were painted on one side but not the other.

Last month, a company spokesman said that of the company's approximately 200 water towers in the state, the Ortley tower is one of less than a dozen to have anything else written on it except the company logo against a white background.

"While some members of the local area may be disappointed that we didn't put the dolphins on both sides, we hope they understand that our logo represents the thousands of hours our employees put in, starting the morning after Sandy, to totally rebuild the local water system that had been essentially destroyed by the storm, ensuring that Ortley Beach, and the other barrier island communities have the water they need to continue their recovery," the spokesman, Peter Esbach said.