Flooding in Union Beach 'Unusually Bad' Monday and Tuesday, Mayor Says

Union Beach, NJ - Several Union Beach residents posted these photos showing flooding in the low-lying community Tuesday morning. Flooding was also reported with Monday morning’s high tide. Particularly hard-hit streets include Union Avenue, Harris Avenue, High Avenue, Herbert Street and Pine Street.

The flooding was “unusually bad” in the past two days, said the town’s mayor, Paul Smith.

He blamed the federal government for holding up a long-planned shore remediation project along the Union Beach bayfront.

“We have plans in place to build new pump stations, build new levees and add more sand to the beachfront,” said Mayor Smith. “We’ve needed this for years, and we’re trying our best to get this project going.”

“The federal government has been dragging its feet getting this approved. Meanwhile, we’re getting hammered,” he said. “It’s been very frustrating.”

Residents are fed up

Residents say help cannot come soon enough to Union Beach.

“This project has been on paper for over 12 years now and still nothing. I watched Gov. Christie and our local mayor promise things would get fixed,” said Union Beach resident Richard Wood. “It’s pretty ridiculous that the people who stayed in town and lifted their homes are paying much higher taxes since Sandy, and we can’t even get out of our homes (when it floods).”

Wood says he now pays $8,000 a year in taxes after raising his home post Sandy. That’s $2,000 more than what he paid before 2012.

Flooding is made worse because the town’s creeks and sewers are still filled with mud, sand and debris from Sandy, he added, and the Environmental Protection Agency is preventing the town from cleaning it up.

Moderate flooding was expected

Weather experts predicted the flooding would occur, and a Coastal Flood Advisory was issued Monday along the New Jersey coast, particularly in Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean counties.

The flooding occurred due to a combination of the high tide and the new moon, meteorologists said. Back-to-back offshore storms Monday also contributed, as the wind pushed the water onshore.

Beach erosion is also a concern Tuesday, as wave heights are expected to reach the 8- to 12-foot range.

The town of Union Beach raised some areas, but they still flooded Monday and Tuesday, residents there said.

Photos used with permission from Debra Ann Gatto-Schaub/Vanessa Beard/Richard Wood