Snow heightens flooding fears

Manville residents urged to stay tuned and be prepared should melting snow cause flooding.

By:Sally Goldenberg

Staff photos by John Patten
Joe Papiez gets a hand plowing from his son Brian as they work in front of JZ’s Haircutters on Camplain Road, Tuesday night.


Storm’s costs mounting


   Manville residents felt the immediate effects of one of the state’s largest snowstorms in recent memory: Schools shut down on Tuesday following Monday’s closing for Presidents Day, small businesses closed, and Gov. James E. McGreevey issued a statewide warning to stay off the slippery roads.

   And backaches from shoveling sidewalks may turn to financial strains for residents.

   The borough Department of Public Works will foot the estimated $23,000 bill — a high price due to overtime and holiday pay, DPW Director Phil Petrone said.

   "It’s a financial headache to the borough and it’s burdensome to the residents and businesses in town to dig their way out from underneath this," Mr. Petrone said.

   Fourteen DPW workers hit borough streets at 6 p.m. Sunday, setting out to plow the snow as it quickly covered ground. They worked until Tuesday evening — plowing and salting the two2 feet of snow that blanketed the borough, Mr. Petrone said.

   "We did very little sanding and salting because the snow came down so quickly," he said. But once the furious storm quieted down, the department poured about 30 tons of salt onto borough streets as of Tuesday afternoon, he added.

   The storm fell with a particularly high price tag, in part due to the record volume, he said.

   "We’re going to have to go out and start removing snow as opposed to plowing snow. I have to open up all the storm drains that are covered. It’s going to be very costly," he said.

   Small business owners also felt the financial effects of the blizzard that struck on Presidents Day, a holiday when retailers traditionally look forward to lots of shoppers.

   Oscar Gonzalez, co-owner of Discount Mattress and Furniture Co. on South Main Street, lost a business day on Monday. "Presidents Day is a good day," he lamented.

   He then spent Tuesday morning plowing the walkway before the store opened.

   "All the walkways were blocked up. Everybody was out here early this morning, drinking coffee and plowing away," Mr. Gonzalez said on Tuesday.

   Residents beginning to go stir-crazy by Tuesday must have dug out their cars from under mounds of snow as well, because business was better than usual for a day of inclement weather, Mr. Gonzalez added.

   "We had a decent day," he said. "We expected to do next to nothing, but a lot of people are off today, so they just came out."

   Quick Chek, at the intersection of Brooks Boulevard and North Main Street, stayed open during the day on Monday, but abandoned its 24-hour service by closing from 8 p.m. Monday until 6 a.m. Tuesday.

   Despite the slippery roads Monday, residents piled into the convenience store between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. for cigarettes, coffee, water, milk and eggs, Assistant Manager Liz Ferraro said.

   "Considering the snow, it was busy," she said.

   Students who had an unexpected day of fun in the snow will lose two days of tanning on the beach as schools must stay open two extra days in June to make up Tuesday and a snow day earlier this season.

   "We’re up to the second makeup day, which would make the last day of school June 20," Business Administrator Richard Reilly said.

   As one of the largest snowstorms in modern history incapacitated most of New Jersey earlier this week, Manville residents were absorbed with other concerns — the possibility of subsequent flooding.
   "It’s almost identical to what happened in 1996, when we had a major snowstorm, warm weather following it and a major rainstorm," Mayor Angelo Corradino said.
   As of press time, meteorologists were predicting warmer temperatures and rain for the weekend.
   Bound by the Raritan and Millstone rivers, the borough is prone to heavy flooding. Many homes were damaged during floods that followed the 1996 snowstorm and Hurricane Floyd three years later.
   "There was a lot of damage to homes, not to the extent of Floyd, but if you lived in one of them, it was enough to make you feel devastated," Mayor Corradino said of the last major blizzard to take on New Jersey.
   The Federal Emergency Management Agency bought out about 40 houses in Manville’s lowlands, known as Lost Valley, after Hurricane Floyd — decreasing the number of houses that could be ruined by floods, he added.
   Seven years after the last major snowfall, the borough is better prepared for floods, Mr. Corradino said.
   "We have a radio station now," he said, referring to 1700-AM. "We have more sirens that people will be able to hear."
   In addition, the Rescue Squad and police and fire departments each have a boat for rescue efforts. The Police Department purchased three boats, two all-terrain vehicles, a trailer and a 15-passenger van with a $129,000 state grant geared toward flood relief equipment last year.
   "We’re much better prepared this time than we were then," Mr. Corradino said.
   However, borough residents should be wary of rainfall as the weather warms and heaps of snow melt, Borough Administrator Gary Garwacke said.
   "It’s like Code Orange," Mr. Garwacke said.
   Despite the borough’s flood-coping equipment, residents ought to devise contingency plans in case of flooding, he said.
   "They should have a plan in case it does reach that situation. Have their valuables ready," he said.
   In order to stay safe and dry, he left residents with one last piece of advice: "You want to get out when it’s dry — not when it’s 2 feet deep."
   South 18th Avenue resident Joe Zuza Sr., who served on the Borough Council during the 1996 storm, said he is mildly concerned about floods this weekend but lives in a neighborhood less likely to flood.
   "If I get water where I live, we better build an ark," Mr. Zuza said.
   He anticipates floods could be worse this year than in 1996, due to increased development in the borough and surrounding municipalities, which brings more asphalt and less grass to absorb the water.
   "The town of Manville floods perennially. There’s no doubt about it," he said. "As long as I’ve lived here, there’s always been a moat around it."