Westwood Residents Want Answers About Pascack Brook Flooding

Westwood residents who have been affected by flood waters came to the council meeting Tuesday to tell government officials changes need to be made to improve the situation and to provide better notification.

Mayor John Birkner Jr. assured residents that government officials are taking the issue seriously and explained that the borough has been involved in the Pascack Valley Waterway Management Task Force, which is working toward a cooperative stream cleaning effort, for about a year. He said Andy Clark with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will come to the area May 13.

"We will be doing a walk-through with a shared services group, DEP personnel and DPW personnel with United Water and our environmental groups that are concerned," Birkner said. "The purpose will be to identify problem areas from Harrington Park up to Park Ridge in the Pascack Brook."

He said they will investigate what areas need attention and how to coordinate the process of stream cleaning from the south to the north.

To help the cleanup process move forward more quickly, Birkner asked the council to consider a request from Sen. Gerald Cardinale to support Senate resolution S-54, which Birkner said would help "undo some of the burdensome requirements for the permitting process for desnagging and desilting activities in the streams and brooks in the state of New Jersey."

Council members unanimously approved the resolution Tuesday to support the Senate action.

But residents said they want to see more done to solve the problem than simply passing resolutions.

"Everybody here should be part of an action group instead of talking," said Harding Avenue resident Ron Cassidy to applause. Cassidy suggested the borough release a progress report every two weeks to keep residents informed about what steps are being taken to correct the problems.

Many blamed United Water for allowing too much water to flow into the Pascack Brook during storms causing very damaging flooding.

"You can dredge that creek from now until doomsday. It's not going to make any difference," said Harding Avenue resident Karen Chase. "It's a brook and it can't take the dumping from the reservoir."

Borough Engineer Stephen Boswell agreed that cleaning out the Pascack Brook won't solve all the problems. "Desilting and desnagging is a benefit, there’s no question about it," he said. "However if the amount of water that comes through exceeds the capacity of the channel, even if desilted and desnagged, you're going to have an overflowing event."

Chase said that flooding with the brook has been happening for 20 years and residents have been dealing with it, but the actions of United Water have made the situation unmanageable. "We cannot do it when they [United Water] dump thousands and thousands and thousands of gallons in a brook this wide," she said.

Rich Henning of United Water told Patch the issue isn't as simple as just lowering the water levels. He explained that the company has to keep the 800,000 people it serves in Bergen and Hudson counties in mind. He said if the levels are lowered in anticipation of rain that doesn't fall, the water supply might not get replenished.

"We understand the concerns of residents who live in flood prone areas," Henning said. "However, our decisions to operate the dams are based upon maintaining the safety and integrity of our facilities, including the dams, and the safety of the water supply. They are not based on flood control purposes."

He added that water levels in reservoirs must be maintained in order to avoid damage to dams.

Steuben Avenue resident Tom Bisdale said United Water should be held accountable. "It's very clear they can manage this situation a lot better than they have," he said. "Everyone knew that March 6 storm was coming."

Bisdale said a similar rainfall later that week didn't cause flooding because United Water released water in anticipation of the storm. "They can do it," he said. "I think they need to be made to do it."

Others voiced their frustrations about the notification system the borough has in place to let residents know when dangerous flood waters are approaching. Several said they did not receive the reverse 911 calls for the recent storms and they rely on the siren from Hillsdale to let them know about the danger.

Officials said OEM Coordinator Darren Blankenbush was aware that some residents did not receive notification and that he was working to correct the issues.

Cassidy said he heard the alarm in Hillsdale March 7 at 2:30 a.m. and five minutes later there was water in his house. Many agreed the notifications didn't give them enough time to move their belongings or get out of their homes.

Councilman William Phayre said he was out during the March 6-7 storm and the water rose very quickly.

"We got caught off guard on March 6. I was out with the fire department. Everything looked normal. We were all comfortable," Phayre said. "Then all of a sudden, bam, we were all in a panic, emergency services as well as homeowners."

He said while he didn't have an answer for residents, he was doing due diligence by investigating water levels at different times to understand the situation.

"It's a major problem we're all going to try to deal with together," Phayre said.