Rain Storms Raise Concerns in Regards to Water Basin

As another pelts the borough Thursday into Friday and a flood warning is in effect for the area, borough officials will continue to watch closely at the drainage of the water retention basin at the corridor of Route 17 and Franklin Avenue which was put in by the state Department of Transportation last year.

Ken Jobs, borough engineer, told the mayor and council Tuesday night that he inspected the basin following the weekend’s rain storm and they found that water elevation in the basin reached the bottom of the concrete block -located towards the back - but it is draining although somewhat slowly. He told them they will continue to see what the water level looks like after each storm.

could become clogged and flooded which could be a potential threat to the nearby athletic field which is located between Old Field and Franklin avenues. Borough officials have addressed these concerns to the Department of Transportation. Other complaints include the maintenance of the basin which has been subjected to debris and abuse by passersby.

Jobs told Mayor Rose Heck on Tuesday that he has sent the letter in regards to the borough’s complaints regarding the basin to the new DOT commissioner as per her request. Recently he reported that the DOT said it would address the basin’s landscaping concerns in the spring.

Before the DOT converted the area into a water basin about a year ago, the area was a landscaped island. Although the state did not need the borough’s permission to convert the area in to water retention basin officials have stated it would have been in the best interest to have had them and the engineer involved in order to avoid multiple problems that have risen since.

The fencing at the point nearest to Franklin Avenue, which was damaged by an accident involving a tractor trailer earlier this year, has yet to be repaired.