The Lost Valley

I was reading a blog post on New Jersey Infrastructure and came across this video titled "The Lost Valley: Rising Water, Sinking Hopes" focusing on the serious flooding issues at the Borough of Manville in Central New Jersey. It's a very sad and a very real problem. According to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) statistics, floods are the number one most common natural disasters in the U.S. 

Borough of Manville - USGS Quad Map

Borough of Manville - Aerial Imagery

As you can see on the images above, the Borough is surrounded by waterways: the Raritan River, Millstone River and Royce Brook. The "Lost Valley" is the eastern portion of the Borough bounded by the railroad tracks and Millstone River. I remember awhile back, I was in nearby Bound Brook taking water quality measurements during a heavy rainfall and it was rough - local roads and properties flooded, bubbling manholes, etc. I remember the water surface elevation was just flirting with the low chord of one of the bridges I was taking measurements from. Serious stuff. 

Well, check the video out if you haven't already. A well-made video on promoting awareness of a very serious problem. 

Raindrops Keep Fallin' on my Head...

Random, but related...

Passaic River Basin Flood Preparedness Workshop
Very good presentations from the workshop focusing on the Passaic River Basin. Check out the link above. Presentations by the speakers can be downloaded by clicking their names (it took awhile for me to figure that out...). Many topics focusing on green infrastructure. 

From Presentation "USGS Involvement in the PRB" by Heidi Hoppe

I was reading an interesting article titled "The Energy Balance Method of Stormwater Management" from this month's STORMWATER MAGAZINE when this image captured my attention:

This office complex is on green infrastructure steroids! It's the Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc.'s HQ building in Virginia. For more information, check it out on ASCE.

By the way, if you are a stormwater professional and have not subscribed to the Stormwater Magazine, you definitely should. Great articles and best of all, it's FREE! STORMWATER

Until next time, good night or good morning?

Green Infrastructure for Passaic County?

I read some great news the other day on Passaic County! The article is available on North Jersey.

"Passaic County will be holding a workshop called "Green Streets 101" on June 11 to discuss how to better include green infrastructure into the county's capital planning."

 
I always had a strong interest in topics associated with the Passaic River Basin, which led me to focus my research project on it during my Master's. It's probably because one of my first WAH-TAH resources assignments as an engineer was to develop a hydraulic model for a portion of the river.

The Passaic River Basin
Image Source: PassaicRiver.org

As many from North Jersey may know, Passaic County is part of the Passaic River Basin, which is considered one of the most flood prone watersheds in the U.S. We see the flood damages every year on the news... billions of dollars worth of damages having occurred already since the early 1900's. It is a constant concern, especially for the residents, local businesses, etc.

Many studies have been prepared and proposed approaches (e.g., buyouts and elevated homes, levees, etc.) have been published. For example, the Passaic River Flood Advisory Commission published their 15-recommendations last year. Also, many may know of the USACE "Main-Stem" Plan proposed a long time ago, which consisted of an underground flood tunnel. The tunnel, however, has been very controversial due to the uncertainties in environmental impacts and costs.

I remember one of my professors telling us, "Engineers can solve any problem, just hand us a blank check". It's very true. A massive project such as the underground flood tunnel may be one of the large-scale, long-term solutions, especially with increasing development and urbanization and the growing costs associated with recovery. It's been done before. For example, Japan has massive underground flood tunnels. But, how can we fund this type of project (not considering environmental impacts)?

Green infrastructure to the rescue?! Well, no. Is it a strong player as part of a comprehensive solution? Yes! It's not going to be the answer to all problems, but, I am a firm believer that the widespread use of green infrastructure practices can help manage smaller and more frequent storms and provide a sustainable environment. AND, it's cost-effective.

So, great news!

"The workshop will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Passaic County Public Safety Academy, 300 Oldham Road, Wayne. To RSVP for the workshop contact Jennifer Gonzalez in the Passaic County Planning Department at 973-569-4040 or jenniferg@passaiccountynj.org."

Wish I could attend, but I will be on an oversight job for the next two weeks in Upstate NY.

Enjoy!