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It’s been more than a year since the devastating storm Hurricane Ida struck in the Borough of Manville in September 2021, causing some of the worst flooding in the town’s history. Come to Manville. Shop and support local businesses. Take a drive through town to see the “Bright Lights” Home Decor Contest sponsored by the Manville Arts Council.
But there’s more to know about this special town and its storm-resistant inhabitants.
Manville began life as a large manufacturing facility at the turn of the 20th century. Johns His Manville was built in what was then Hillsboro his township. Factory workers needed a place to live, and over time he built more than 3,500 homes in his tightly-knit two-square-mile town. Today, 11,000 residents proudly call Manville home.
Manville’s significance is that the products of its manufacturing facilities and the residents who lived here contributed to the victory of World War II. One of his many inhabitants of the conflict has gone out to defend our freedom. We are a designated Purple Heart Community and he one of the most patriotic towns in Somerset County.
Unfortunately, in the decades since, Manville has become “ground zero” for the effects of poor stormwater management regulations.
Since 1955, there have been major floods that have gotten worse. Today, some say the cause is climate change and more intense storms, but the real cause of Manville’s problems is the overdevelopment that continues to progress rapidly around us.
The amount of impermeable cover added to our basins is well past the tipping point. Apartment complexes and warehouses take over our landscape. Sadly, stormwater runoff from upstream communities is a significant threat to Manville.
Developers have built homes in areas of the town that have never been flooded before. They failed to predict the future impact of upstream development and increased stormwater runoff from other towns. Many older existing developments upstream of Manville do not have stormwater management practices in place. They simply channeled the storm runoff into rivers and streams that ended up here in Manville.
This is a man-made problem that requires a man-made solution, requiring bold action and a lot of money to fix.
A large part of the solution is to implement stricter stormwater management regulations and countywide stormwater utilities. This utility will help generate funds to retrofit existing sites with new rainwater harvesting infrastructure that will help reduce future stormwater runoff and correct past mistakes.
Governor Murphy recently had the opportunity to put the brakes on our state’s out-of-control development. However, he did not take the bold action necessary to sign the emergency executive order. This immediately puts into effect the tougher stormwater management regulations developed by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
This delay will only hurt Manville’s future. Because development continues all around us, increasing storms are directed in our direction.
However, there is good news. NJDEP said he plans to implement the new rules in early 2023. This is to avoid challenges in court by developers and is expected to be expedited through the normal process to become the new stormwater regulation.
Over the years, Manville has been a “forgotten town” in flood mitigation efforts to lower floodwater levels. Manville was not included in the Greenbrook Flood Control Board, which successfully protected its downstream neighbor Bound his Brook. The Army Corps of Engineers conducted a flood survey of our area in 2012 and determined that it would be too expensive to build flood dikes like Bound Brook. The ‘benefit-to-cost’ ratio was determined to be far below the level needed and does not take into account the quality and potential loss of life in the event of future floods.
more:Mayor, environmentalist to Gov. Phil Murphy: Tightening flood control in New Jersey
Residential areas are not the only areas currently at risk of flooding. Our commercial district will be submerged. Main Street Manville was also devastated by previous floods. Think about the future loss of economic activity from empty stores and demolished homes as a result of participating in the Blue Acres program.
There is currently no state aid program to send more municipal aid to offset the lost income from the more than 170 Blue Acre homes that have already been removed from the flood plains. Congressman Roy Freiman, who represents Manville, can defend new legislation to help our town suffer this significant financial loss. I hope it will be reflected in his legislative agenda for 2018 and will have the support of all elected representatives in Trenton.
After major floods in 1971, 1999 and 2011, Manville did not receive an adequate distribution of emergency disaster assistance. Manville’s aid after Hurricane Irene in 2011 was less than his 1999 aid after Hurricane Floyd. As a result, Manville can’t come close to storming his resilience unless he receives a significant portion of the $377 million Hurricane Ida federal aid allotted to New Jersey. We need to break the cycle of devastating floods with a sense of urgency. Here’s how:
We need to move our local government and emergency services to higher ground. Our City Hall, Department of Public Works, Fire and Rescue Buildings were flooded during Hurricane His Ida.
“Where is our help?”Manville residents frustrated by government’s slow response to Ida
Manville residents sit anxiously awaiting a home height subsidy program that will pay them to raise their first-floor living spaces above the flood reference level. And other residents who have moved away from their homes, whose foundations have collapsed and were heavily damaged, are sitting awaiting offers to buy that could take years. We also need to develop new housing opportunities for residents who want to buy out and stay in the city they love.
Unfortunately, we were told by state officials that “disaster recovery will take time.” As Americans, we deserve better treatment from our government when natural disasters strike.
It is unacceptable to see flood-damaged abandoned homes that are more than 15 months old. What do you tell property owners? Continue paying property taxes and mortgages for homes you don’t live in. It could take another year or more before the first acquisition is completed with Hurricane Ida funding from his new FEMA Swift Current program. Only $10 million has been allocated to Manville so far.
We need more.
An action plan for the aftermath of Hurricane Ida was developed by the Trenton Community Service. It is currently under review for approval by HUD. The plan includes two programs important to Manville: the Resilient Communities program and the Smart Moves New Housing Development program. These two programs could have a significant impact on Manville’s future if a fair share of the federal budget is allocated to make it more resilient to storms.
Hurricane Ida:Manville takes steps to reduce potential flood damage
As Mayor of Manville, I am asking for more urgent help for our residents and business owners. We were very lucky as Ida had many life saves and a gas explosion destroyed him two homes and one of his businesses. We have suffered enough from floods in the past.
Now is the time, more than ever before, to allocate millions of dollars of federal and state aid to Manville. We definitely deserve it for what we’ve been through. Who can we count on to ensure that Manville is no longer a ‘forgotten town’ and that it has a sustainable and prosperous future?
I am very proud to call Manville my home and will continue to advocate that Manville is truly worth saving. The “American Spirit” exhibited here is Manville strong!
Richard M. Onderko is the Mayor of the Borough of Manville..
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