West Windsor’s problem with flooding on Washington Road near the train station redevelopment area is clearly more than a neighborhood issue. The township scheduled a meeting for residents and businesses directly impacted by the flooding and it attracted a crowd of 40 people, including four Council candidates — Gary Zohn, Lauren Kohn, Bryan Maher, and Greg Harris. But politics took a second row seat as residents voiced their concerns and questioned the administration.
Kevin Chung, president of Avante International Technology located at 70 Washington Road, said since Hurricane Irene his business is still not fully operational and has lost several million dollars. Chung brought a planning consultant, Mike Sullivan, with him to the meeting and he distributed a letter to the administration, encouraging residents to sign it.
Mayor Hsueh outlined West Windsor’s issues as two-fold: first overdevelopment prior to 1987 that permitted home-building on many sites prone to flooding; second, several hundred acres in the township are affected by regional flooding problems.
George Ferguson of 34 Fieldston Road raised many points that commanded the attention of residents and Business Administrator Robert Hary, who asked Ferguson to call or meet with Fran Gruzik, the township engineer, whenever possible. Before stating his observation, Ferguson said the first thing the township must determine is whether Irene was a 100-year event or not.
“We had water flowing the wrong direction in Little Bear Brook. What happened was that there was a choke point as well and the problem was there is one bridge here that controls the Bear Brook flowing north into the Millstone, so essentially when Irene hit that Sunday we were fine in the morning but during the day the watersheds filled all the basins. Water backed up and was moving at maximum velocity through this bridge underneath the Dinky. The problem to me is that we’re basically the squeeze point now for Lake Carnegie and the Millstone, and we need to have accurate data to show how often this reverse flow occurs,” he said.
After the meeting Ferguson came to the front of the room and reviewed the flood zone maps with the administration. Questions ensued about lowering the water levels at Lake Carnegie, which is controlled by Princeton University, and the NJDOT’s roadwork removing obstructions in place at the new bridge constructed on Harrison Street.
Gruzik said the involvement of the Army Corps of Engineers, which has already been commissioned to do a study of the Stony Brook-Millstone watershed, would secure some federal funds going into researching flooding causes, as certain properties along the Millstone are recognized as having a structural concern.
While Gruzik said funding is not where the administration would like it to be, the township plans to have its own study done by an engineering consultant and the plan is to fast-track that study. Hsueh said it was vital to get input from residents before the township sends out its RFP (request for proposals). Gruzik said the study would cost the township “five to six figures.”
