Flood Prone Towns Meet With DEP
New Milford, River Edge and Oradell meet with DEP to talk about flood maps and mitigation
Mayor Ann Subrizi, Councilwoman Hedy Grant and representatives from River Edge and Oradell met with representatives of the N.J. Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP): Cindy Randazzo, Director of the Office of Local Government Assistance; Fred Sickles, Acting Director of Water Supply and Geoscience; and John Moyle, engineer and Manager, Bureau of Dam Safety & Flood Control
Also present at the meeting were borough engineer Margita Batistic, New Milford Police Chief and Emergency Management Coordinator Frank Papapietro and Borough Administrator Christine Demiris.
Subrizi reported at both Monday's meeting of the Mayor and Council and Tuesday's meeting of the Planning Board that the meeting with the NJDEP focused on three areas:
- Lowering the reservoir in advance of a storm
- Revising the current flood maps that date to 1982
- Dredging the Hackensack River
According to Subrizi, the idea of lowering the reservoir in advance of a storm for flood mitigation is not well received by NJDEP.
"They consider water supply more important than flood mitigation and they don’t think a drinking water reservoir can be used in flood mitigation," Subrizi said.
"Our reservoir is only 23.16 feet deep and considered 'shallow' compared to other reservoirs in the state that reach depths of 100 feet," Subrizi said.
Grant reported that the NJDEP said that they can only order United Water to lower the water if they think that the dam is endangered.
Subrizi said that the NJDEP maintained that the levels the resevoirs are kept at are necessary in order to to meet the potable water needs of our area.
According to Subrizi, the NJDEP said that when United Water holds water back it's so they can meet demand.
The Mayor also reported that the NJDEP is working with FEMA to update the flood map and showed a preliminary map outlining today's 100 and 500 year floodplain to the Planning Board on Tuesday.
Batistic said that the 1982 flood map that the borough has been working from does not reflect the development that has taken place. Subrizi said that the NJDEP expects the new flood map to be ready in approximately one year.
When asked if, in the new flood map, the 100 year floodplain will go beyond the current 500 year floodplain, Batistic said that the NJDEP said, "Probably not."
With regard to dredging the Hackensack River, Subrizi reported that the NJDEP said that although it is expensive, it can be done independently, or through the Army Corps of Engineers; however, the NJDEP doesn't have faith this will give mitigation relief more than once.
According to Subrizi, the NJDEP said, "It’s not the depth of the water but the height of the water, so after filling the hole once that would be it."
A copy of the new preliminary flood map can be viewed at the building department in Borough Hall.
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Lori Barton
8:13 am on Wednesday, June 27, 2012
The question isn't whether the revised 100 year flood plain will go beyond the current 500 year flood plain, but how much farther the 100 year flood plain will extend compared to the existing DEP maps from 1982. As Ms. Batistic stated, the current map does not reflect the development that has taken place. We need to be vigilant to see that NO NEW DEVELOPMENT takes place on sensitive flood area properties. Any paving of these areas will result in MORE flooding of already flood prone sites. Attend the zoning board hearings to STOP Hekemian from ruining New Milford. No development of the Suez/United Water property: contact SODNOW@yahoo.com and like us on facebook. Learn how this development will affect ALL of us: higher taxes, increased flooding, overcrowded schools, traffic nightmares, increased response time for all emergency services, and exposure to greater levels of air, water, and noise pollution. No matter where you live in New Milford (or Oradell, River Edge, Hackensack and Teaneck), this development will affect YOU.
mellie
9:58 am on Wednesday, June 27, 2012
What a depressing newspaper article!! So, basically at the meeting it was determined there was nothing we could do, and no one could come up with anything???? WTH. Is anyone representing the tax payers of New Milford? SOD is the way to go and lets stick together with who we choose to elect to represent us at the next election. I would love to hear people with solutions and at least ideas as to how we can CHANGE things.
miriam pickett
12:53 pm on Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Once again the residents of this area of Bergen County are being shafted by the water company and the DEP. We must make sure that the current proposed development does not get approval. If it goes forward all bets are off. For more information on how to fight this development, contact sodnow@yahoo.com. We are fighting to maintain our quality of life and to limit additional flooding.
Ulises
2:52 pm on Wednesday, June 27, 2012
The sad part of this ordeal is that we have a mayor that on record is trying to do all the right things and hold all the right meetings, but at the end of the day, as she recently told a valuable SOD member (she had no idea she was telling this to a SOD member), the Mayor wants the new Shop Rite on the UW's property.
Many of us voted for Subrizi and showed Debari the exit door because he wanted this land developed. I quess Subrizi will become a one term mayor once she gets Shop Rite developed on this flood plain.
John DeSantis
3:06 pm on Wednesday, June 27, 2012
The long term solution to flooding on any river is a two part solution. One - stop developments on flood senitive properties. Two - remove the existing structures from the flood plains. As difficult as it may seem, stopping the development is actually the easier part. Communities must stick together and fight any proposed new developments along their rivers and the people must act as responsible citizens and participate in local government and elect officials who understand the solutions to river flooding and are environmentally responsible. The second part is more difficult and expensive and will take decades to complete. The federal, state and local governments need to slowly and eventually purchase all properties on flood plains that have existing structures on them and preserve these lands as permeable buffers along our rivers. These lands could be used for agriculture, parks, or wildlife sanctuaries. When they do flood the damage would be minimal. It will take a long time to complete this task. We should start now. SOD!
Martha
5:05 pm on Wednesday, June 27, 2012
I cannot believe that our state has blinders on when it comes to United Water. Suez Environnement, the parent company of United Water, has had their contracts rescinded for non-compliance, poor performance, fraud, bid-rigging, payoffs to public officials, & corruption (just to name a few), in various countries such as Argentina, Indonesia, Philippines, Turkey, Puerto Rico, Bolivia, France, & the US. Public officials have been convicted & sent to jail. France took control of the water system which was run by Suez Environnement. In January, 2012, The European Commission started formal proceedings to determine whether Suez violated European anti-trust regulations. Suez was fined approximately $11 million dollars in May, 2011, for having breached a seal to an office door by investigators during a surprise inspection in 2010. In November, 2007, the Italian Competition Authority fined Suez $3 million Euros for engaging in anti-competitive arrangement relating to the water services industry with the Italian company ACEA.
Martha
5:16 pm on Wednesday, June 27, 2012
CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS COMMENT-RAN OUT OF SPACE
Several cities in the US have canceled contracts with United Water to save money and improve services. There is an indictment against United Water with 25 counts of Clean Water Act violations and one count of conspiracy to defraud the US Government by tampering with E. coli bacteria monitoring results in Gary, IN. Former Atlanta Mayor William Campbell served jail time for racketeering activity ie, accepting compensation from United Water for gambling, trip to France, signing letter agreements granting additional millions of dollars to United Water. I could go on, and on. Please find the links below for more detailed information regarding United Water. You will be intrigued and amazed at the same time, I promise you!
Sorry, cannot get the links to work. Just google "Serious Allegations Against United Water & a Long Troubled Track Record" by the People's Vangaurd of Davis.
Also, Google "Indictment against William C. Campbell, Atlanta Mayor" Refer to Pages 8 & 9 regarding United Water
http://davisvanguard.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4772:serious-allegations-against-united-water-and-a-long-and-troubled-track-record&Itemid=79
http://davisvanguard.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4772:serious-allegations-against-united-water-and-a-long-and-troubled-track-record&Itemid=79
http://www.justice.gov/tax/usaopress/2004/txdv04SummaryWCCIndictment.pdf
Martha
5:50 pm on Wednesday, June 27, 2012
I must have suffered a brain freeze.....the links are working in the comment above.
Just an afterthought.....The flyer/report card that United Water mailed two weeks ago again states that the sodium levels in our drinking water exceeds the state and federal guideliness, & for those with compromised immune systems, or, elevated blood pressure, to seek your doctor's advice. In other words, the water is not safe to drink! Of course, that's not their fault either! The excuse this year, is the same excuse as in years past....the number one souce for the elevated levels of sodium is the salt run-off from the streets into the water supply. We only had one slight snowstorm, so where is all of this salt coming from? Will Rich Henning blame Mother Nature for depositing salt too? Why is it that other water companies throughout the US meet their state & federal guidelines? Do they have a magic wand that makes the salt disappear? Gee, it makes you wonder do they really purify & remove contaminents, bacteria, etc, from the water supply?
A few weeks ago the RECORD had an article regarding a conference with Homeland Security & United Water (hosted by United Water) regarding preparing for the unknown threat/protecting the water supply. How can they possible prepare for the unknown threat when they cannot prepare for the known threats ie. salt/bacteria/contaminents to our water supply? Makes you wonder.