PASCACK VALLEY—Westwood Mayor Ray Arroyo took to Facebook to apprise residents after what he called the most recent “no-name storm” caused flooding in the Westwood–Hillsdale area over Memorial Day weekend.
He compared his borough’s office of emergency management response with that of neighboring Hillsdale — both boroughs no stranger to flood issues — and said he is among those “again press[ing] for the only immediate relief measure that can mitigate our local flooding problem — which requires legislative intervention.”
Arroyo clarified his remarks for Pascack Press, saying “Saturday’s event was a clear demonstration of how a year-round lower elevation at the Woodcliff Lake Reservoir could avoid repetitive flooding from what should have been a manageable event.”
He said the 2.8 inches of rain that fell over 24 hours “might not have even breached the banks of the Pascack Brook had the winter elevation of 91 feet been maintained year-round.
“At the summer elevation of 94 feet, the Friday evening rain alone quickly filled that limited freeboard and began cascading over the fully deployed gates (95 feet) at around 2 a.m. Saturday.”
Arroyo said, “With 21 storms predicted this hurricane season, the reasonable expectation of replenishment makes maintaining the higher ‘summer’ water level unconscionable. In another scenario that might seem like the intentional infliction of emotional harm.”
Arroyo told residents the borough clerk had just the week before gone live with the borough’s flood page on the town website (westwoodnj.gov, Residents, Flooding Information) linking visitors with archived correspondence between the borough, the state DEP, and the water company, on the borough “requesting a year-round maximum level of 91 feet.”
Related to this, on April 5, Arroyo said, the Westwood governing body adopted a resolution supporting state Sen. Holly Schepisi’s proposed Senate bill S-790 Flood Control Measures.
“This bill would require the state’s water management facilities to include flood mitigation protocols in their standard operating procedures. Such measures could compel pre-storm release of maxed-out holding vessels, which is where the Woodcliff Lake Reservoir was on Friday night.”
Separately, the 10 mayors comprising the Pascack Valley Mayors Association — representing the residents of Emerson, Hillsdale, Park Ridge, River Vale, Montvale, Oradell, Old Tappan, Township of Washington, Westwood, and Woodcliff Lake — are meeting on flooding again next week. Arroyo promised an update.
Westwood’s flood page page offers resources under the headings Prepare, Respond, Recover.
It has links for Westwood OEM flood guide; flood insurance; flood insurance/community rating system; flood preparedness and mitigation; tracking storm conditions; flood safety; flood recovery; and flood archive.
It also explains, “Flooding occurs in Westwood along the Pascack and Musquapsink Brooks during severe rain events, although flooding may also occur in other areas of the borough due to various topographical and infrastructure conditions.”
It adds, “Stormwater runoff can elevate stream levels for hours, and even days, after the rain ends. Weather patterns to the north, including New York State, and the resultant drainage into the various brook tributaries, can result in flooding in our area well after a storm has passed.”
And it says, “With the Woodcliff Lake Reservoir to the north of Westwood, many residents consider the reservoir and dam operations to be a contributing factor to local flooding. The borough has no control over the operations of the dam or the reservoir.”
It says, “Seasonal water levels, and the release of water by Veolia (formerly Suez) prior to, during and after a storm event, are all subject to DEP regulations, which prioritize the preservation of the water asset and the structural integrity of the dam.”
Timeline of a soaking
Arroyo told residents:
- From later Friday evening into late Saturday afternoon, the total accumulation of intermittent, sometimes heavy, rainfall was 2.8 inches.
- Westwood OEM was notified at 2:22 a.m. Saturday morning that “the reservoir will spill over in approximately one hour.” OEM had received no other notifications, neither from weather sources nor its Bergen County counterparts, regarding potential flooding.
- Our OEM director began to monitor the brook levels and confer with Hillsdale OEM as the day and events progressed.
- Several residents had reached out to me around 3 p.m. on Saturday afternoon advising that the Pascack Brook had breached the banks. They noted that Hillsdale had already sent out flood stage warnings, but Westwood had not. While both towns share this problem, the timing of flood impacts is somewhat different. Hillsdale, topographically, sits at a lower elevation than Westwood. Consequently, Hillsdale OEM will often initiate, and escalate, its flood stage/evacuation warnings before Westwood initiates the same. Both agencies observe the progression of events in their respective flood-prone areas.
- Westwood OEM sent out a warning to Flood Zone #1 at 3:30 p.m. An advisory was sent out to Flood Zone #2 at approximately 3:50 p.m.. Both were based upon Westwood OEM’s field observations, weather monitoring, and USGS data.
- The water began receding between 7:45 and 8 p.m.
- Today we will have a better idea of just how many home and business interiors were impacted by this event.
Arroyo explained, “On March 30, I requested the DEP conduct an analysis comparing the accuracy of pre-storm rainfall predictions with actual rainfall, looking back over several years. The idea was to gauge how much of the water asset might have been lost had pre-release followed these predictions. And then compare those costs with the cost of property damage, emergency service costs, increased flood insurance premiums etc., generated by the standard operating procedure of holding the asset and accepting the resultant flooding.”
He said, “It seemed to me, if the DEP was instituting policies based upon climate change models anticipating more frequent and more severe rain events, that some significant part of the water inventory, let go in a pre-storm release, would presumably be replenished.”
He added, “Such a study might prove it more cost effective to take some sustainable financial loss on the water asset than continue to pay out damages and incur local service costs.”
The mayor said, “On April 29, I received an answer declining my request. … The dollars and cents of this cannot come close to capturing the mental trauma experienced by our flood residents. We on the governing body know that. We will continue to make sure your elected officials up the chain, the only ones who can mitigate your ongoing suffering, know that as well.”
On June 1, Arroyo told Pascack Press, “I got clarification from the borough attorney last night: The water company can manipulate the water level in the reservoir independent of the DEP. They are not precluded by law from doing so. However the DEP does not ‘recommend’ that the water company use this as a flood mitigation method.”
He said, “Whether their failure to do so is by law or by their regulatory agency’s (DEP) recommendation is largely a distinction without a difference. Neither Violia or the DEP have any incentive to move off the status quo.”
Arroyo said, “The flood residents have no leverage over the regulatory agency or the water company. The latter is a monopoly. The residents cannot take their money elsewhere. The water company cannot be shamed into operating differently.”
Veolia responds
On June 1 we reached out to Deb Vial, spokesperson for Veolia in New Jersey, for comment. She wrote back promptly:
“The dams are operated under the strict oversight of the DEP and state regulators do not allow for the release of water ahead of storms. Regulators have good reason for this: The last time a release was ordered, the storm produced very little rainfall. That was followed by a severe drought, leaving depleted reservoirs struggling to meet the needs of millions of residents and businesses.”
She said, “The company’s reservoir system and its dams are built to protect the water supply, an essential resource, for 900,000 residents and businesses in Northern New Jersey. The reservoirs mitigate some flooding issues in the region by holding water. However, there are areas in traditional flood plains — flood plains that existed long before the reservoirs — where development should have been discouraged. That’s why the state has made buying homes in flood plains a priority through their Blue Acres program.”
Vial also said, “We understand that some areas have been impacted by development and we are working closely with municipalities to discuss to give them real time data on storms and reservoir levels. We have also offered to help them coordinate the clearing blockages in their stream beds.”