Mayors’ ask on flood study gets warm reception at Veolia

BY MICHAEL OLOHAN OF PASCACK PRESS

Pascackvalley

Hoping to improve the “compromised flow” of Pascack Valley waterways, the 10 mayors of the Pascack Valley Mayors Association sent a letter to Veolia Water of North America (formerly Suez) requesting funding for an aerial drone study of waterway stream banks and conditions.

And Veolia responded positively to the mayorsʼrequest.

In a statement to Pascack Press, Kevin OʼConnor, Veoliaʼs external affairs director, called the drone study “a good concept and we want to know more … Weʼre pleased they want to take action.”

The mayorsʼletter, addressed to OʼConnor, did not include an estimated price for the study.

The PVMA, led this year by Old Tappan Mayor John M. Kramer, wrote, “The PVMA is proposing a unified plan of action and would like to enlist Veoliaʼs support to fund the costs of the Phase I Drone Study. Please advise if Veolia is willing to partner in a more effective, joint effort to mitigate a deteriorating, regional situation.”

PVMA notes itʼs “exploring a multiphase initiative to improve the compromised flow of the water- ways carrying Veoliaʼs product, and mitigate the flooding that regularly results therefrom.”

Phase I would include the drone study and engineerʼs analysis; Phase II would involve hiring a grant writer to seek funding for a basin-wide project from federal/state sources; Phase III would set forth a multi-year plan.

At Jan. 23ʼs Borough Council meeting, Woodcliff Lake Mayor Carlos Rendo told residents that the mayors want “to work together with the county and Veolia to address these (flooding) issues.” He said the goal of the drone study and seeking grants for a Pascack Valleywide flood mitigation effort was to enlist the state and county to help towns address increasing flooding and its impacts.

Rendo said Park Ridge Mayor Keith Misciagna told him that silt levels are so high in some streams and tributaries that thereʼs nowhere for stormwater to go during heavy rains. He said the type of basinwide efforts being proposed by the 10 mayors might “help to ameliorate some of the damage these storms will do.”

The mayors wrote, “All parties involved in the ongoing issue of fluvial flooding – from our federal and state representatives, our county and local elected officials, DEP regulators and Veolia, to the thousands of residents and business owners adversely impacted on a regular basis – know that the piecemeal approach to a basin-wide flooding problem can only have limited, local effects bringing fleeting, short-lived relief, while simply moving the problem downstream to areas left unaddressed.”

Veolia responds

Asked to comment on the outreach, OʼConnor told Pascack Press, “We appreciate that the leaders of these communities are considering taking action to clear the waterways. This is something we have recommended for a long time.”

He said, “On our property, our watershed team works to clear downed trees and other debris that could impact flow along the river, brooks and streams, but that isnʼt enough if others arenʼt doing the same with their properties. Clearing those waterways as well as storm drains and discouraging and removing development along floodplains can help alleviate the impact of storms.”

OʼConnor told Pascack Press that he had reached out to Terry Maguire, PVMAʼs executive director, “because weʼd like to meet soon. Itʼs a good concept and we want to know more. We spoke to the municipalities in late 2021 and again in 2022 about the need to clear the banks of the Pascack Brook and the obstructions in the waterways as we do on our property. Weʼre pleased they want to take action.”

Moreover, Debra Vial, Veoliaʼs director of communications, said that due to drought conditions during summer and fall in North Jersey, “We had to maximize the amount of water we pump in from the Wanaque Reservoir.”

She said, “The hot, dry weather led to record high water demand and the Oradell lowered to the point that beaches appeared along the banks. I wanted to mention this period because it shows why the state restricts us from lowering our reservoirs before a storm.”

Vial said, “Had we lowered even a fraction last spring, the water supply would have been at a critical point. We never know when the next drought will come. In fact, despite the recent rains, the state still lists upper Bergen County as abnormally dry.”