A long-term, permanent fix to a dangerous drainage situation on Maplewood Terrace should see shovels in the ground in 2025, according to Township officials, who shared plans for a hybrid solution at a July 30 meeting.
After the death of a resident during Tropical Storm Ida in 2021, the township implemented short-term fixes to the open-air storm water drainage that runs through backyards on the street, including the installation of grates over existing, exposed pipe entrances. Local officials and residents have long complained that the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s process had held up permanent, systemic improvements.
NJ DEP is now helping to move the process along, but vetoed a plan for “full piping” of drainage due to the fact that it “resulted in adverse (non-permittable) upstream and/or downstream floodplain impacts” (see the explanation in the attached meeting agenda below).
The current plan, which the Township is moving forward with following the meeting, is to “reconstruct the retaining walls and fully maintaining the open watercourse with grating on top, and partially piping the watercourse to various degrees.” The idea is to “pipe as much of the watercourse as is feasible without resulting in adverse (non-permittable) upstream and/or downstream floodplain impacts.”
According to Township Committeeperson Vic De Luca, about 20 residents attended the July 30 meeting. Following the meeting, which Village Green did not attend, De Luca provided the following answers to Village Green’s questions:
VG: How did the hybrid model go over with residents?
De Luca: Generally well received. No one objected to the new plan.
Were most people aware that that was the direction NJDEP was heading in before the meeting?
The three homeowners who are affected by the pipe/open channel were fully aware and have signed off on the plan. This was the first time others heard about the plan.
Do people still have safety concerns with a resolution that isn’t completely covered?
Most of the stretch will be piped. Potential clogging of the waterway was raised and addressed by the engineers.
How much will this cost and who will fund it? Do we need to apply for grants?
Township capital funds will pay for this. We have about $900,000 set aside but hope that it comes in lower than that. We are waiting for a final cost estimate from the engineering firm, NV5. We don’t anticipate receiving any grants for this work.
Did residents want any more temporary fixes or precautions in the meantime? We see that the timeline is summer 2025 completion.
No temporary fixes were asked for. We committed to continuing our monitoring of the site to make sure the pipes are free of debris. If all goes well, completion will be in summer of 2025. We did talk with residents about making sure to schedule the work so that we don’t have a negative impact from leaf dropping season in September 2025.
Do we have other open storm drainage issues/areas in town that we need to address?
Storm water management is a major challenge and a growing one with climate change. We are looking at the East Branch of the Rahway River, the Lightning Brook and the Crooked Brook, in addition to smaller brooks around town.
