Mayor Marathe & Chief Garofalo would like to pass on the following information in regards to how multiple agencies have been working together to solve problems:
Township Emergency Management has been working closely with the County Highway Department and Jamie Taylor of our public works to identify the cause of the constant flooding on Washington Road at the tennis center during minor rain events.
The three main functions of emergency management are; planning, response & mitigation. Attempting to correct the Washington Road flooding situation is considered mitigation as reducing the frequency and severity of flooding which; improves the community, reduces the deployment of emergency responders and allows traffic to freely flow.
· Washington Road experiences two types of flooding;
· overbank flooding which occurs when water rises and overflows the edges of a river or stream, or
· flash flooding which is characterized by an intense, high velocity torrent of water that overpower the capability of storm water systems and/or existing stream/river channel with little to no notice.
The Township’s recent events on Washington Road have been of the flash flooding variety where the storm water system was not capable of holding the heavy rain. Rarely does Little Bear Brook overflow it’s banks unless the region experiences a significant storm.
The flash flooding of Washington Road is directly influenced by clogged storm sewer pipes below grade which the County has been working on.
Today great progress was made when the County discovered a collapsed steel drainage pipe. Once repaired the flash flooding situation should be resolved or minimized considerably. Thanks Jim
James V. C .Yates
James V. C. Yates, CFO, EFO
Director of Fire & Emergency Services
Emergency Management Coordinator
West Windsor Township, NJ
Phone: 609-799-8735
FAX: 609-799-8926
Issued by Lt. Lee #359
