BY TALI ISRAELI
Staff Writer
MARLBORO — A plan to solve existing flooding problems in the township is in the works.
James Priolo, vice president of Birdsall Engineering, Mike Sinnema, senior environmental specialist and head of Birdsall’s environmental division, and Rob Fiorile, environmental specialist, presented a multi-watershed restoration and protection efforts plan to the Township Council on March 3.
The goal of the project is to implement a township-wide plan that will set priorities for future efforts, engage stakeholders and identify funding sources.
The engineers told council members and the public that chronic flooding conditions in Marlboro are a result of alterations in the natural landscape, stream flow blockages, stream bank erosion and sediment accumulation.
The solution that the Birdsall representatives have come up with is to restore impacted areas and protect them from future damage. The areas currently being focused on that need restoration are Deep Run, Barclay Brook, Big Brook and Yellow Brook.
The restoration effort would include making a preliminary watershed assessment on each stream.
According to Priolo, the assessment for the Deep Run watershed area is almost finished. He said the assessment included a field analysis of the area that identified hundreds of problems, which were then rated on a scale of least problematic to most problematic. The engineer said the assessment also included working on a game plan to implement corrective action.
Birdsall is now teaming up with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to begin the assessments for the remaining three areas, Priolo said. It is hoped that the assessments will be completed by December. Following that, a timetable will be developed for the actual restoration work, he said.
One protection effort that the Birdsall engineers are working on is devising a storm water master plan, which is the storm water element of the town’s master plan that determines how Marlboro officials intend to manage storm water, Priolo said. That plan and the storm water pollution prevention plan should both be completed by the end of the month, he said.
Another protection effort is the storm water control ordinance and development ordinances that will be reviewed in conjunction. According to Priolo, Birdsall representatives will ask the Township Council to adopt the storm water control ordinance by late spring or early summer.
The last watershed protection effort involves seeking grant opportunities from various agencies, Priolo said.
The plan will seek participation from a number of sources including the township itself, federal funds, the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the Army Corps of Engineers, the Monmouth County Mosquito Extermination Commission, developers, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Freehold Soil Conservation District, Monmouth County and Birdsall Engineering.
The majority of participation is expected to come from federal funds (40 percent). The DEP (15 percent), the Army Corps of Engineers (15 percent) and the mosquito commission (10 percent) are also expected to provide funding.
Councilman Barry Denkensohn said he was curious about the cooperation and help Birdsall has received from developers.
Mayor Robert Kleinberg said he does not believe builders will offer any help unless they are forced to, therefore, he said Marlboro is going to stringently enforce the laws when builders develop a project.
“Laws are going to be enforced and [builders] are going to have to do the right thing for our community,” Kleinberg said.
The mayor said this is the first time in a long time that Marlboro has a plan to address the flooding problems in the municipality.
Councilman James Mione said he is pleased to see progress in the form of relief for residents. He said it appears the township is moving forward with solutions for the flooding problems.