By Maria Prato-Gaines, Staff Writer
MONROE — Township officials expect to find a solution to flooding on Old Forge Road through an aerial topographical study scheduled to begin as soon as the autumn leaves drop.
The township has budgeted $200,000 for the study, which local officials believe will assist in finding a solution, said Ernie Feist, township engineer.
The landscape comes to two low points on Old Forge Road, the first near the intersecting Spring Street and the second about a mile north of that, Mr. Feist said.
After a storm, water routinely travels from the west to the east side of the road, eventually making its way to the Manalapan Brook.
Once an aerial topographical study is complete, he said, township professionals will look at the results and weigh two separate options.
The first is to expand or add to existing detention basins that were built to the east of Old Forge Road by the Monroe Pines and Dynasty Estates developments, he said.
”It will hold the water back and release it at a slower rate,” Mr. Feist said.
The other option is to collectthe water west of the street before piping it under Old Forge Road.
Although only three homes are routinely affected by stormwater drainage, a summer downpour that came two years ago left more than just the regulars under water, Mr. Feist said.
”That’s what prompted the township to see what could be done,” he said. “Perceptions really came to light after that unique storm event.”
Professionals began the Old Forge Road drainage study about a year ago, first trying to piece together topographical maps collected from local developers. But the results left the professionals with a skewed sense of what the layout of the area was, Mr. Feist said.
”It’s a large drainage area and we tried to work off existing topography,” he said. “We realized we needed more up-to-date topography.”
Mr. Feist said the flooding has resulted from both man-made alterations and the natural landscape at the site.
”There’s a combination of both,” he said. “There’s been an issue with the flood plains. But with today’s standards we probably wouldn’t allow some of those homes to be built there.”
Some of the affected homes were built 40 to 50 years ago, he said, prior to the township’s partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has identified Old Forge Road as a flood zone.
Mr. Feist said he should have recommendations for improvements to the area in time for the 2009 capital budget.
Even though he did not have an estimate for the piping system or adding a basin, he said a detention basin expansion would likely cost between $100,000 and $200,000.

