By: Najla Alexander
Carteret officials announced that the Borough is surrounded by two major rivers: the Arthur Kill and the Rahway River.
While they make for wonderful waterfronts, the public access to and redevelopment of which continually increase in Carteret, officials stated that flooding can be a hazard.
According to officials, to help mitigate that in one of the most vulnerable parts of the 5-mile-square Borough, the Department of Community Affairs has awarded Carteret a $4,107,675 Resilient Communities grant.
The Honorable Mayor Daniel J. Reiman announced that the funds will pay for most of a $4.7 million bio-retention facility on flood-prone Bergen Street.
“We’re very grateful to Gov. Phil Murphy and his administration for these funds to help manage stormwater runoff and prevent flooding among the many multi-family and single-family residences near on and near Bergen Street,” Mayor Reiman said.
Bergen Street is located near the Borough’s southern connection with the Arthur Kill Tidal Strait, officials said.
Officials say stormwater runoff there drains directly into the Arthur Kill via a drainage trench.
Due to the high volume of impervious services in the surrounding area and its proximity to the coastline, Bergen Street experiences flooding during heavy rain and major storms, officials said.
According to officials, to address this flooding, the bio-retention facility will be built on the former site of three apartment buildings.
“The structures were severely damaged during Hurricane Sandy and would have required substantial improvements, including being raised, to avoid future flooding,” Mayor Reiman said.
The project will include resurfacing Bergen Street, adding a storm bypass pipe, construction of a detention basin and surrounding pedestrian pathway, plantings that will assist in retaining and cleaning stormwater, and dry floodproofing of the existing Bergen Street sanitary sewer pump station, authorities say.
Officials stated the proposed bio-retention facility will catch, clean, and temporarily store stormwater runoff from Bergen Street and the area around it, improving water quality and reducing the risk of flooding.
Once the stormwater has drained through the subsoil, it will be directed into drainage pipes that lead into the Arthur Kill, according to officials.