BY SETH MANDEL
Staff Writer
Officials from Jamesburg, Helmetta and Monroe held the first in what may be a series of meetings to examine the area’s tendency to flood during heavy rains.
Joining the local officials at last Thursday’s meeting were representatives from the state Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) divisions of watershed management and dam safety.
State Sen. Barbara Buono (D-18) said she arranged for state Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Jack Letiere to visit Helmetta after parts of the borough were flooded in the wake of tropical storm Jeanne in September, in order to assess the damage the town withstood.
“And so we discussed that, and then our conversation turned to what the cause of the flooding was, and it became apparent that it was a regional issue and that the cause of the flood was not confined to one town. So this was a perfect opportunity to approach this problem from a regional standpoint,” Buono said.
Alan Dittenhofer, who is the borough engineer for both Helmetta and Jamesburg, said the discussions were preliminary but productive.
“The DEP is going to forward us some further information. We’re going to take a look at it and then discuss it further with them in the future,” Dittenhofer said.
Buono said that it was necessary for all three towns to participate since the overflowing of the cranberry bogs near the Helmetta border in Monroe was a major contributor to the flooding.
Helmetta Mayor Nancy Martin said the meeting was successful and that the towns will be taking additional steps toward a solution in the next few weeks.
Buono said she expects there to be a series of such meetings in the near future.
“We’re taking it one step at a time. The first meeting went well, and everybody understands what they need to do in order to move the process along, and then we’ll take it from there,” she said.
Dittenhofer said he is exploring possible upgrades to the area’s stream cleaning and storm management equipment.
The borough was awarded $269,194 from the DOT in October for the installation of a new storm sewer system, and $72,404 to repair a collapsed drain pipe that also contributed to the flooding in Helmetta.
But, Dittenhofer said, the borough will continue to pursue additional grants until it is satisfied with the flood prevention system.
“We talked about possible funding for the possible operations that would help reduce the chances of the flooding occurring again,” he said.
Buono said she hopes the state can offer significant funding toward the effort to prevent flooding in the future.
“Ultimately, I’m sure that everybody’s going to be looking to the state to see how we can help contribute toward the solution, to help defray the cost,” Buono said.
“And obviously,” she added, “the overriding objective is for this flooding not to occur again.”