HILLSDALE—Several residents from local neighborhoods facing increased flooding due to recent storms — even small rain events — appealed to Borough Council members at the June 14 meeting for assistance and help to mitigate the flooding from Pascack Brook.
Council members, led by president Janetta Trochimiuk, and Mayor John Ruocco listened to three residents talk about flood concerns and impacts during recent Memorial Day and June 2 rain events, which caused flooding in their Beechwood Drive neighborhood.
Later that night, the council unanimously approved a resolution calling on a state environmental agency to require reservoir owners — such as Veolia Water Co. that operates Woodcliff Lake Reservoir — to lower reservoir levels and “implement certain flood control measures.”
The resolution supports legislation introduced in the state Assembly (A-4200) and Senate (S-790) that requires the state DEP create rules and authorize the state Office of Emergency Management “to order lowering of reservoir levels in response to severe weather events.”
The resolution is an effort promoted by the Pascack Valley Mayors Association to pressure the state Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), which oversees the state water supply, to require Veolia to implement flood control measures by releasing water ahead of a major storm.
This action may help to lower overall reservoir water levels to accommodate more rainfall from smaller storms before the need to release it, which may cause flooding in downstream communities.
Currently, reservoir owners are not required to manage water supplies for flood mitigation purposes but instead focus on water conservation, an approach supported by NJDEP.
Chris Adimondo of Beechwood Drive, a resident since 2015, said that historically flooding in his neighborhood was rare and now the area has faced recent repeated flooding, forcing his family and neighbors to live in fear of another storm.
He said recent storms sent him and neighbors “scrambling” to get vehicles out of the way of incoming floodwaters of which they fortunately received an advance warning.
He said the stress of flooding even with small rain events has “affected all of us mentally and emotionally…This is now a public health issue as well as a public safety issue.”
He asked the council what area residents could do to help the council change or minimize the flooding now affecting them.
Ashley Adimondo said the council should request Veolia to attend a council meeting and explain why they are keeping reservoir levels so full in summer, when rain storms may easily top the reservoir dam or cause water releases that lead to flooding.
She questioned the water company’s rationale for keeping reservoir levels at peak during the summer.
She said recent floods had been “significantly detrimental” and hoped that the town would work with her neighborhood to resolve increased flooding.
Ruocco said the Pascack Valley Mayors Association has been trying to address the issue on a regional basis and has been discussing how since the remnants of Hurricane Ida hit home in September 2021.
He said more development, more impervious surfaces, and how the gates are managed at Woodcliff Lake Reservoir all play a part in downstream flooding. He said the flooding problems caused by rainfall have been “dramatic” in recent weeks.
He said possible solutions might lie in securing funding to help elevate housing in flood-prone areas, and additional funds, for buying out flood-prone properties.