Green Brook Flood Control Project
The Green Brook Flood Control Project is a flood control project in Somerset County in central New Jersey first proposed in the early 1970s in the wake of two major flooding events: a 1971 flood event and a major flood in August 1973, which ravaged the Green Brook and Raritan River basins with flooding, causing millions in property damage and several deaths in central New Jersey.
The worst flooding in the Green Brook basin occurs in Bound Brook, which partially lies on a natural flood plain of the Raritan River at the junction of the Green Brook and Raritan River.
To address this flooding problem, the United States Army Corps of Engineers has proposed the Green Brook Sub Basin Flood Control Project, which entails numerous flood walls, levees, channel diversions, widening projects and retention basins throughout the Green Brook basin.[1]
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[edit] Floodings during the project
The Green Brook Flood Control project has languished for decades due to a lack of federal funding. Hurricane Floyd in 1999 caused yet more property damage and deaths in the Green Brook basin, especially in Bound Brook, and reinvigorated the flood control project. As of 2006, two levees have been built on the western and eastern sides of Bound Brook. An important levee (R2) on the southwestern side of Bound Brook, which would prevent the Raritan River from flooding the downtown and nearby residential areas, is 99% completed as of September 2011. Full 150 year protection of downtown and nearby residential areas of Bound Brook will not be in place until closure gates are constructed and fully functional at two locations on the western and southern sides of Bound Brook, which is expected by the end of the summer of 2012.
The April Nor'easter of 2007 flooded Bound Brook with the second highest crest ever recorded in the area, as the envisioned flood protection systems were not yet fully in place. However, the April 2007 flooding did reinvigorate efforts to complete the flood levee protection system around Bound Brook, to protect it from future flooding.
Flooding of downtown occurred in August 2011 when Hurricane Irene passed along the East Coast.[2]
[edit] Current status
The Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) are moving forward with two contracts for the Green Brook Flood Control Project, both of which are located in Bound Brook:
- 1. R2 Levee System – Construction of the R2 Levee System has been completed as of late 2011. The R2 Levee System is designed to provide Bound Brook with protection from a 150-year flood level. However, the 150-year flood protection will only be achieved when the entire levee system is in place, including the two closure gates. The levee will be built to the height of the raised Talmage Avenue Bridge.
- 2. Closure Gates Along Raritan River – The full 150 year flood protection from the R2 Levee System will not be in place until two closure gates are completed that will prevent flood waters from entering Bound Brook. The gate closures will be across the New Jersey Transit railroad tracks on the western side of Bound Brook and at the South Main Street railroad underpass that leads to Queens Bridge. Work on the South Main Street railroad underpass closure gate is 99% completed, and is expected to be fully completed in January 2012. The New Jersey Transit railroad tracks closure gate is in the construction stage as of January 2012. It is 56% complete as of January 2012, with full completion expected by the end of the summer of 2012.
The new Talmadge Avenue Bridge that connects Bound Brook and Bridgewater, New Jersey is functionally complete as of April 2010. The replacement bridge was built to the height of the R2 Levee to prevent Middle Brook and Raritan River waters from entering Bound Brook from the west. An early test of the newly raised Talmadge Avenue Bridge occurred in early March 2010 when the downtown area of Bound Brook received flood waters from the South Main Street railroad underpass, but the western section of Bound Brook was spared from the flooding by the completed portions of the R2 Levee and the newly raised Talmadge Avenue Bridge.
To improve water flow through Bound Brook, the former Conrail bridge over the Raritan River and its associated railroad embankment that were located east of Bound Brook were removed during 2007. The bridge and embankment, when they were in place, acted to block the river flow through the Bound Brook area. To build the main Bound Brook R2 levee, the bridge and embankment needed to be removed.[3]
By March 2011, the $120 million profect was 90% completed and effective to prevent flooding during a major rainstorm.[4] When Hurricane Irene passed along the East Coast in August 2011, flooding was not prevented but damage apparently mitigated by the not-yet-completed flood gate system.[5]
[edit] Finderne Wetlands Mitigation Project
The Finderne Wetlands Mitigation Project (also known as Finderne Farms) is a wetlands project upstream of Bound Brook in Bridgewater, New Jersey that is tied into the Green Brook Flood Control project. When completed, Finderne Farms will serve as a Somerset County park with trails through wetlands and ballfields. More importantly, Finderne Farms will serve as an upstream wetland that will help to reduce flooding in the Raritan River valley by providing space for floodwaters to pool.
A roadway bridge called the Sebrings Bridge, which crosses the Green Brook and links the towns of Green Brook, New Jersey and Middlesex, New Jersey, will be replaced in 2010 and 2011, as part of the Green Brook Flood Control project. The bridge currently slows water flow in the Green Brook during periods of high water runoff and causes flooding in the areas upstream of the bridge. The new bridge will be widened and raised to ease water flow. Federal funding is in place for Fiscal Year 2011 for the bridge replacement. Replacement of the bridge also will allow for additional future flood mitigation measures in the areas adjacent to the bridge, such as additional flood walls and levees.
[edit] References
- ^ US Army Corps of Engineers New York District: GREEN BROOK SUB BASIN, NJ, accessed May 10, 2006.
- ^ Eugene Paik (August 29, 2011). "Flood waters cover Bound Brook as smell of oil is in the air.".
- ^ February Meeting Minutes
- ^ Tom Haydon (March 10, 2011). "Bound Brook officials hope new levees hold back flooding from rainstorm". http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/03/bound_brook_officials_hope_lev.html. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
- ^ "Bound Brook crediting flood controls with minimizing Irene damage.". August 30, 2011. http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20110830/NJNEWS/308300020/Bound-Brook-crediting-flood-controls-minimizing-Irene-damage?odyssey=nav%7Chead.
[edit] External links
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Green Brook Sub Basin Page - Army Corps Green Brook Flood Control Project Website
- Green Brook Flood Control Commission - Official Project Website
- History of The Green Brook Flood Control Project
- Detailed Green Brook Flood Control Project Update U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Meeting With Local Officials - September 6, 2006
- Officials plead for further flood control funds $400 Million Needed to Complete Project, $40 Million to Fully Protect Bound Brook - April 19, 2006
- Lawmakers work to keep flood-control funds from drying up - January 11, 2006
- House panel approves $5 million for Green Brook Flood Control Project - May 18, 2005
[edit] River Gauge
- Raritan River Gauge, Bound Brook, New Jersey - Observation gauge approximately one-half mile west (upstream) of Bound Brook, NJ, just below Calco Dam. Main Street in Bound Brook floods when the river reaches a 30 foot stage.
