Results of study termed inconclusive
By: Courtney Gross
An analysis of the banks of Harry’s Brook by Princeton Township officials did not have an answer for residents whose backyards have morphed into swimming pools as a result of the continuous flooding in the Random Road area.
With no solution in sight, the Princeton Township Flood and Stormwater Management Committee met Thursday afternoon to discuss, yet again, flooding at Harry’s Brook that some residents claim is a result of increased development in downtown Princeton.
Analyzing soil content and the width of the brook’s banks seemed inconclusive, which left some members of the committee determined to bring back solid solutions at its meeting in April.
Because the brook’s cross-sections had not been measured since the 1970s, township officials surveyed the area last month to determine if erosion was a severe contributing factor in the area’s constant flooding. Their results, however, were not that simple.
According to an analysis by Joseph Skupien, the township’s stormwater consultant, the banks, for the most part, have remained relatively unchanged for the past three decades. Several areas, particularly around 32-year resident Olivia Applegate’s home, have widened by more than 10 feet. But that was not a characteristic of the entire area, Mr. Skupien said.
To further address the problem, township officials said they would revisit the area and inspect pipes in the storm water system as well.

