Stafford Unveils Latest Plan to Alleviate Flooding in Ocean Acres
Township officials say new proposal will protect people and property while addressing environmental concerns
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After more than a decade of sparring with the state’s Pinelands Commission and the New Jersey Division of Environmental Protection (DEP), Stafford Township’s engineers presented a plan at Tuesday’s council meeting that could finally alleviate the flooding caused by heavy rainfall in the Neptune Drive area of Ocean Acres.
The Neptune proposal, according to Trevor J. Taylor, of CME Associates, calls for the construction of a new retention basin and spillway on the south side of Route 72 across from the current one on Neptune Drive.
Taylor also discussed preliminary proposals to expand the basin along Forecastle Drive. Similar plans have earlier been rejected by the DEP, but the expansion of the basin using township-owned property is something that should still be considered, he added.
The new proposed Neptune basin will be nearly twice the size of the current 4.5 acre one, and the two will be connected by a series of culverts underneath Route 72, said Taylor.
The estimated cost of the project is $2.3M, which could be funded through a state loan program. The program would forgive half of the loan upon completion of the project, charge zero percent interest on the next 25% and fund the final 25% at the prevailing market interest rate, said Taylor.
“The two basins should be able to handle the run off a 100-year-storm,” said Taylor. A 100-year storm as defined by the NRCS (National Resources Conservation Service) for the area is 9.2 inches in a 24 hour period.
“We are seeing climate changes that are producing more and more major storms,” said Taylor. It was reported that the storm that flooded the area this summer produced more than 8 inches of rain in less than 10 hours.
The current basin, which pipes the water under Route 72 into township property in the Pinelands, can not handle that much water, said Mayor John Spodofora. “Think of it like a funnel. When too much water comes in too fast, it is going to bubble back through the storm drains or overflow the basin,” he added.
Additional culverts will also be constructed in the neighborhood, especially near Leeward Avenue, where residents complain of flooding before the water even reaches the current basin, said the mayor.
The new basin would be constructed on township-owned property in the Pinelands and there are several conditions that need to be met to acquire the necessary permits from the commission and DEP, said Taylor. But a preliminary meeting with the Pinelands Commission had found them looking "favorably" at the concept, said Township Administrator James Moran.
The township is going to address the Commission’s inital concerns and are scheduled to meet with them again next month, he added.
The new culverts will be built near the top of the current basin and will be able to channel water out of the residential area across the highway before it overflows.
This system should meet the DEP’s CFS requirements, said Taylor. CFS stands for Cubic Feet Per Second and applies to the rate that storm water can be discharged into a protected area.
The DEP also now recognizes “extenuating circumstances” when it comes to protecting people and property versus environmental concerns, said the mayor.
“This is the right thing to do and now is the right time,” said Spodofaora, who added the permitting process to begin construction is estimated to take one year.
Delores Kurtz
10:05 am on Wednesday, September 19, 2012
please Stafford Twp. please help the flooding on Treasure Ave also
John Lied
1:01 pm on Wednesday, September 19, 2012
They only act fast if its a employee that caused thier own flooding like they did out on Middle Road,,,
john colli
3:36 pm on Wednesday, September 19, 2012
John LIed get your facts straight..Why are you so obsessed about your neighbor. The truth will set you free!!
Sal Sorce
1:37 pm on Wednesday, September 19, 2012
What I felt was the approved storm water system
were the basements allowed in many sections of
Ocean Acres ... let us not forget most if not all
of the allowed land use was done under the
BLOCK TEAM ...
does anyone recall Jean De Palo's plan to
run a bake sale to help fund the loss of
property damage done during the 500-year
storm!!!
I cannot to this day accept the continued
building-construction of residential homes
with basements.
This not a recent event, this election silly-time
the plan at the cost to taxpayers throughout
the rest of the town NOW have to absorb this
expense ... plan if approved, would not be
started for a year or more ...
john colli
3:45 pm on Wednesday, September 19, 2012
hey Sal, alot of basements were built before block team also. If done right basements wont get water in them. They still build is surfcity even after the 62 storm. and the island still floods. so stop picking on basements . P.S. it is spelled SUZUKI !!!!!
Sal Sorce
5:58 pm on Wednesday, September 19, 2012
John Colon ... been here since 1971
saw things gradually grow for all the wrong
reasons.
First the township building often called the TAJ
went over estimated costs ... it still has not been paid
for ... believe the cost was well over $14-million.
Second Beach Haven West homes that I looked at
were $500- down $49.99 per month for a ranch and
or cape ... the heater was in the floor and ran on
home heating oil ... the many earlier homes are virtually
sinking from age and the few blocks they sit on.
The payout was around $8400 with $8900 on the bay.
Surf City homes can be built 60 inches off grade with
many earlier way lower ... many are 9 feet off grade.
In 25-years we have never been flooded ... Surf City
is the best run-managed township on LBi.
God Bless Len Connors for excellent management
under the best GOP Team in Ocean County ...
Believe our bonding debt of under $200,000 is either
paid with a few hundred to be used for bulkhead
and street paving ...
YEAH many say it's a small town with services to match.
YEAH Stafford big city plans with big city problems ...
a mess planned on a flaw master plan ...
Sal Sorce
6:04 pm on Wednesday, September 19, 2012
The ribbon cutting scheduled for the LUXURY HOMES
AND APARTMENTS WITHIN THE STAFFORD BUSINESS PARK
STATED THAT PARENTS CAN BRING THE KIDS TO PLAY
WHILE THEY CHECKED OUT THE HOMES ETC.
HMMMM NICE GOING STAFFORD MANAGEMENT ANOTHER
GRATUITOUS DEAL FOR WALTERS ...
THE AGE RESTRICTED WAS LIFTED UNDER JOHN MC MENAMIN
WITH THE OTTAWA STUDY SHOWING ONLY A FEW CHILDREN
WOULD BE MOVING IN ... WHAT A CRYSTAL BALL THAT CLOWN
HAS? IF SHOW WHY ARE THEY SHOWING PROMOTING HOME
SALES TO FAMILIES ... OPENING THE FLOOD GATES IN A TOWN
WHERE THERE ARE ONE CHILD PER FIVE ADULTS ...
HUGE SCHOOL TAX LEVIED ON SENIORS ...
WONDER WHAT THE DEVELOPER IS GOING TO DO WITH THE
HUGE INVENTORY ON HAND AND NOT SELLING ???
Sal Sorce
6:22 pm on Wednesday, September 19, 2012
BASEMENT ON LBI AT GROUND LEVEL ENCLOSED
BUT NOT IN THE GROUND ...
MEET ME AND SHOW ME WHAT YOU SPEAK OF???
BEEN ON LBI SINCE 1959, FIRST AS A SUMMER VISITOR
SPENDING MY HARD EARNED SAVINGS TO ASSIST
THE PLAN TO BUILD UP MANAHAWKIN ... AND OCEAN
ACRES PLUS ... ENOUGH SAID ...
JUST LOVE A LOVE-FEST SUCH AS LAST NIGHT !!!
Reverend Flecher
7:47 am on Thursday, September 20, 2012
New people coming in soon and losers will be on thier way out..Sal you cant preach right and wrong to the devil or a pack of thieves just make your mind up to vote the ones out that have been running this town to hell in a hand basket...
john colli
7:46 am on Thursday, September 20, 2012
Hey sal,
The beach haven west houses you speak of are not what you claim.do your research. Some of the earliest houses do not have heat in the floor it was in the wall. Ask anyone that grew up in one if they burned themselves on it as a child because it was the only heat in the house. Furthermore the houses were built on slabs and not block. Alot of which are still solid as a rock. And SRHS is not a county school it is a township school. If you are so unhappy with stafford sell sell please sell and move to your little surfcity since its so charming and enjoy the beach that the taxpayers keep spending money on.And by the way stop with the capitals,why are you always yelling?