Hightstown residents swamped by nasty nor’easter

By: Dick Brinster
   HIGHTSTOWN — The nor’easter that dumped nearly 5 inches of rain on the area earlier this week created a navigable waterway on a small section of Main Street, had firemen pumping out basements for three days and overwhelmed the sewage treatment plant.
   Flooding of basements was rampant throughout the borough, and cellars were still being pumped out Tuesday, said Fire Chief John Archer. But the most severely flooded area was downtown.
   "The lake just completely overflowed," said businessman Jeff Bond, whose buildings were inundated with about 15 inches of water when Peddie Lake poured over its banks on Sunday evening. "You could have taken a boat from the front of the stores and paddled right into the lake."
   The Main Street section of Route 33 between Franklin and Stockton streets was closed from 6:30 p.m. Sunday to 5:30 a.m. Monday, Sgt. Glenn Runge said. Route 33 was closed at two locations in neighboring East Windsor from 3 p.m. Sunday to 3 a.m. Tuesday.
   The borough asked residents on Monday not to overtax the treatment plant. That was after 3.84 inches of rain fell the previous night, according to weather.com. An advisory on the borough’s Web site asked residents not to wash clothing or flush toilets excessively. It was lifted Tuesday.
   Public Works Superintendent Larry Blake, who has lived in the borough all his life, said he could remember only two more severe incidents of flooding, most recently in the 1960s. He said the problem with the wastewater plant probably was exacerbated by groundwater leaking into pipes in the aged system.
   "And we think sump pumps were being used, and they are not supposed to be connected to the system," Mr. Blake said, noting that residents can dump excess water into the storm sewers.
   Borough Administrator Candace Gallagher said officials were fearful of sewage backups into homes.
   "Thank God, I did not get any reports," she said. "The plant was not pumping fast enough to keep up with the water flow."
   Ms. Gallagher said the borough will be applying for state and federal aid, which she expected to be granted because a state of emergency had been declared in Trenton.
   Mr. Bond, a member of the Economic Development Committee, said the efforts of the Public Works and Fire departments kept the situation from being worse in his buildings occupied by Solid Creations, Orien’s Gift Shop, the vestibule of the Community Action Service Center and the Cunningham Building. He estimated the latter had about 3 feet of water in the basement.
   "The Fire Department came with sandbags and I can’t thank them and the Public Works Department enough," he said. "I’m at the lowest point in town."
   His buildings are the closest structures to the spillway that dumps water downward from Peddie Lake to Rocky Brook, which then flows northwest through the borough into East Windsor.
   Borough resident Gail Kelly praised the firemen for a quick response.
   "We called the Hightstown volunteer firemen to pump out the cellars and they were here within 10 to 15 minutes," she said.
   Chief Archer said 30 to 40 basements in the borough were pumped out between 2 p.m. Sunday and Tuesday afternoon in shifts of about 18 hours.
   "Whoever called in, we just went out and pumped the basements," he said. "We had about 20 to 25 men working in three to four crews."
   Chief Archer called it a community effort, saying food for the firefighters was donated by borough and East Windsor businesses such as Wawa, Chicken Holiday, Brothers Pizza and Famiglia Pizzeria.
   Flooding forced closure of Route 33 in East Windsor between Hickory Corner and Airport roads and at Davison Road, according to police.
   All told, roads were closed at 19 locations over the three-day period, said township Mayor Janice Mironov. But she said there was virtually no harm to the infrastructure aside from damage to paths in the parks.
   The storm also resulted in schools being closed Monday in the East Windsor Regional District. And meetings of the Borough Council and East Windsor Regional school board, slated for Monday night, were canceled.