Broadway. July 3 By Ken Buckley
From Ken Buckley, a resident of Broadway: “I can’t believe there is any debris left on our streets to clog these drains. I will send you series of pics which show water half way out to median west of Pilgrim but little east of Pilgrim at the same time.” Ken
Editor’s Note: We spoke to Mayor Eric Houghtaling today regarding Broadway. He says that all the work on Broadway regarding flood control has been completed, although he indicated that there might be some more to do on Abbott Avenue. He feels that there will always a tendency to flood on Broadway under certain conditions but that the situation is much improved.
He acknowledged that future work is planned for Fletcher Lake. The Mayor also said that the Township could not routinely assign people to be available at all times to clear the drains. The Public Works people were there today, but the residents may need to help out sometimes.
I agree with Fed Up. I live on Inskip and a river comes down the street with any kind of rain. However, it isn’t just Grove water. As I was driving to work one rainy morning the river was coming off of 71, traveling down Stockton, making the turn down Benson and then another turn down to Inskip. The people on the block next to mine have to move their cars the water gets so deep going down the street. Somethin’s not fixed.
Nothing should ever be considered complete unless it is “corrected or finished of any problem. Mayor Houghtaling should never use any term like “complete” which indicates to me that the Township will no longer be trying to figure out a way to finish the job that may HAVE BEEN STARTED BUT IS CERTAINLY NOT “COMPLETED”.
The only ones who can actually say when it is complete will be the residents who live on Broadway and have lived this nightmare for years and the flooding stops.
A good point made above is that they just redesigned and rebuilt the Broadway drainage system. They did so with full knowledge of the grading of the town and the history of flooding in the Broadway area (to include side streets like Pilgrim’s Pathway).
There are no surprises here. This is not some unexpected freaky weather thing. Perhaps it is only me, but why would the town undertake a major drainage system rebuild and not try to fix the “historically documented” flooding problem? What the Mayor is saying is that the town could have rebuilt the system to carry more water and solve the flooding problem but chose not to do so. What amazes me is that those in power seem like they are OK with the flooding continuing forever.
What happens to us when we get a really bad storm? If the drainage system is failing with no leaves in the street and only brief heavy rain, what will it be like when the next Nor’easter hits? Better have your waders by the door (and remember who you voted for).
Concerned Broadway Resident, did you know that Ocean Grove is graded from north to south, that the southern end of town is at a.much lower elevation then the north? Water flows downhill, so unless you knock down every house and level Ocean Grove, you will get more water then someone on Seaview
When dirt roads get paved, impervious surfaces are created, existing issues are amplified
Ken: The Mayor told me that “we have had the most rain ever in recorded history for the month of June.” He commented that he had not heard of anyone’s home “flooding out” during all this rain and that the water had dissipated quickly. —Paul
Has anybody else noted the increasing rainfall totals in such short periods of time all over the country? How does any local government plan for that? Got answers to the new record high temperatures out west?
Criticism is so easy, solutions are so hard.
Editor’s note: Just to be clear, when I interviewed the Mayor, he did not say that he was “satisfied,” nor did he say, “Oh well.”
He did say that the planned project was complete and that the purpose of the project was not to find a cure for the “documented historical” flooding on Broadway. He said that the stated purpose of the project was to improve the runoff of water after heavy rains.
He also said that the Township would continue to look for other ways to slow the water flowing on Broadway and that planned mitigation work on Fletcher Lake should help along with some further paving, possible work on Abbott Avenue, and remediation efforts by homeowners such as has been done at the Seaspray Inn.
He pointed out that the DPW had stepped up its efforts to keep the drains clear, but the Township cannot provide workers to do that at all times.
Mayor Houghtaling expressed his concern about ongoing flooding issues on Broadway and that he wanted to help as best he can.
Obviously Frank Sir does not know much about the history of the drainage system in Ocean Grove especially the Broadway Drainage Project. When the Main Avenue drain pipe to the Ocean had to be closed up during the sand replishment project, all that water was directed towards Broadway.
Instead of directing some of that water to Wesley Lake or other parts of town, they proceeded to increase the volume of water towards Broadway and Fletcher Lake. Do most people know that between 70% and 80% of all the town’s drainage/run off water goes to the eastern section of Broadway? Even the new pipes cannot handle this volume of water especially when there are these flash floods.
This is very poor planning on the part of the Township that has been going on for years.(future drainage plans) I do not know how they can fix this at this point. They have spent a bundle on these projects, and it seems like it is getting worse in certain areas. We need engineering advise from someone who knows how to deal with drainage issues such as those in Ocean Grove.
So Frank Sir please get your facts straight and be a little more compassionae for all those who have been effected by these flooding/drainage problems.
The Mayor said the work on Braoadway is completed. Draw your own conclusions.
Dear Frankly Sir and all other excusers:
Given that a well-funded, comprehensive re-engineering of the drain system was just completed, it is totally unacceptable for anyone to think that this is just the way it is. They could have engineered the system to have the capacity to handle ANY amount of hard rain. I would have been satisfied with a system that would only flood once every other year, instead of every time it rains hard (let alone a system that works unless there is an exceptional storm like a N’oreaster).
Why would they rebuild a system that fails every time it rains hard? Why would the town pay for such a system?
Dear Mayor: how can you possibly be representing the interests of Ocean Grove if you are satisfied with a drainage system that fails continuously? What about the homeowners that live with the threat of property damage every time it rains?
They built a drainage system that fails every time. How can the Mayor be satisfied with this outcome?
“Always a tendency to flood” I live 2 doors from Ken.
Any time we get a heavy rain that lasts more than a few minutes is not “Always a tendency to flood”. It is proof of inadequate drainage and of a failure of planning, engineering and execution. The Mayor can’t just say ‘Oh Well’……
Let’s face it: lower Broadway has to be one of the lowest elevations in the State of New Jersey. Much of OG runs off to Broadway. The town grading was done in the 19th century. Of course it floods. This year there has been flooding all over NJ, not just OG. Why would anyone think this area is immune to gravity? You own a house in a flood zone. Get over it. Be prepared, or move.