Green Brook Flood Control Project
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Green Brook Flood Control 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].
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. However, an important levee on the southwestern side of Bound Brook, which would prevent the Rartitan River from flooding the downtown and nearby residential areas, has not been built yet and will be delayed due to a lack of current federal funding.
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[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. Talmadge Avenue Bridge Replacement (Will Allow Building of Levee Along Raritan River in Bound Brook)
- 2. Removal of Conrail Bridge Over Raritan River (Will Be Part of Railroad Embankment Removal East of Bound Brook to Improve Water Flow Through Bound Brook)
Bids were opened at the end of September 2006 and the project award is anticipated by the end of 2006. Project Funding of $5 Million is in place for FY 2007[2].
While $5 Million is enough to keep the Green Brook Flood Control project alive, it is well short of an adquate amount of funding to complete the $430 Million project. An additional $30 million is necessary to finish the flood levee loop around Bound Brook, which includes the raising of the Talmage Avenue Bridge at a cost of $12 to $15 Million.
[edit] References
[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 Gauage
- Raritan River Guage, 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.
