Westwood Residents Want More Done Before Heavy Rain

Some residents came to the Westwood council meeting Tuesday night to express their concerns about the potential for flooding in the coming days. The county is currently under a .

Borough Engineer Stephen Boswell said because of the rainfall predicted, he has been watching the water levels at the Woodcliff Lake reservoir. He said the levels peaked at 3 p.m. Tuesday at 95.2 feet. At 8 p.m. he said the level was 94.92 feet.

"We have called United Water and asked them to let out as much as they possibly can in anticipation of the rainfall that's predicted," Boswell said.

Residents who said they looked at the Pascack Brook Tuesday said they were disappointed with what they saw. Ron Cassidy of Harding Avenue said he wanted United Water to lower the water levels below 95 feet for large rainstorms to help prevent flooding.

Dan Atkins, also of Harding Avenue, said he was "very disappointed" that United Water hadn't lowered the water levels Tuesday. "They're not doing anything for us," he said.

He added that debris in the Woodcliff Lake reservoir could cause problems in Westwood if a large amount of rain pushes the debris over the spillway and into the Pascack Brook.

"Then we'll be back where we were March 7 and April 17," Atkins said, referring to the last two times flooding occurred. He suggested the borough look into suing United Water.

Eve Protin of Harding Avenue said debris in the drainage ditch near Westwood Plaza needs to be cleared because it causes flooding by her home. She said residents have been clearing debris when they can to try to prevent flooding.

Mayor John Birkner Jr. said the property owner would be notified about the issue.

The mayor also gave a report Tuesday night about the walk-through of the Pascack Brook that was completed last week. He said those on the walk-through found some areas with blockages and snags, but for the most part the waterway looks good.

"Overall the brook is in fine shape," Birkner said. "There are not a lot of areas that are impeding flow."

He said officials are in the process of compiling the data about problem areas and once it's complete, the information will be available on the borough website.

Cassidy said New Milford government officials have asked United Water representatives to attend the June 13 council meeting to talk about flooding. He wanted to know if Westwood representatives could also be present at the meeting and residents notified of it.

Birkner said he would have someone contact United Water and New Milford to see if they could accommodate Westwood representatives at the meeting. "If not, we'll request to have a separate one that's more specific to this area," he said.