TOWNSHIP OF WASHINGTON—A township councilwoman voiced concerns Sept. 18 over an engineering proposal to pipe and cover an “unnamed tributary” that runs behind at least four Meisten Street homes, wondering what upstream and downstream impacts might occur.
The unnamed tributary, an offshoot of Musquapsink Brook that comes out of Northgate Condominium Complex, flows behind about five Meisten Street homes, and rejoins Musquapsink Brook again, before heading towards Schlegel Lake, and flowing towards Pascack Brook and the Oradell Reservoir.
Addressing Meisten Street resident Michael Agnello’s questions over what he called a “ditch” running through his and neighbors’ backyards, Councilwoman Stacey Feeney wondered whether piping and covering the generally slow-flowing small waterway was the “right” idea.
She wondered about potential problems for the waterway’s neighbors, and the waterway, and what possible impacts might result such as flooding, blockages and other problems.
Feeney, a Northgate resident, said if the waterway was piped and covered, the water might impact the newly improved Pascack Road-Washington Avenue intersection, which was upgraded by Bergen County over a nine-month period.
“We don’t know where the water’s going to go,” said Feeney. She cited impacts from water releases such as the Woodcliff Lake Reservoir that impact downstream communities and increase local flooding. She noted flooding incidents in the township and nearby Hillsdale caused by reservoir releases during storms.
“Are we making the right decision to allow this to be covered up?” asked Feeney. “We should not be causing other impacts” by doing this, she said.
Boswell Engineering proposed estimated costs $281,000 to $399,000 for piping and covering the unnamed tributary, plus $70,000 in engineering costs. Council President Desserie Morgan said Sept. 18 that no decision has been made on what to do next.
Mayor Peter Calamari suggested that he could have Boswell Engineering develop bid specifications for a pipe and cover project, and officials could see what costs are bid.
He said bid costs may be lower than Boswell projects, as such estimates are often on the high side. No decision was made to go out for bids.
Agnello suggested that each Meisten Street homeowner could probably pipe and cover the waterway for half the price being charged by a contractor. He said on the county and state level, “this piece of land (waterway) doesn’t even exist.”
The waterway, which flows 24/7, was not listed as an “unnamed tributary” on a recent Boswell Engineering drone study mapping of Musquapsink Brook through the township, although two other “unnamed tributaries” were specifically mentioned on the study’s maps.
Following a Boswell study this spring, the engineer determined the unnamed tributary, previously thought to be a Category One, or protected waterway, was not a regulated waterway because it did not drain an area of 50 acres as required, instead only draining an area of nearly 49 acres.
Several nearby residents, including Agnello, disagreed with Boswell’s finding, as well as an engineer from Emerson who questioned the consultant’s conclusion.
Had the waterway been deemed a protected waterway, it was likely to be a factor in evaluating possible impacts to it from a proposed 17,100-square-foot retail development at the Pascack Road-Washington Avenue intersection.
However, that did not occur. The retail proposal was denied by the Zoning Board and the applicant has recently filed a legal complaint in Superior Court to appeal the denial.