To fix Ridgewood's flooding issue, experts outlined these measures

RIDGEWOOD — Three major floods from October to January spurred village officials to escalate talks with regional and national agencies to find a water control solution.

A recent public meeting with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers followed a January request by village officials to become formally involved in designing short- and long-term plans to control flooding along the Saddle River and Ho-Ho-Kus Brook that flow through its borders from north to south.

Hosted by Army Corps of Engineers Deputy Chief of Planning Stephen Couch, the meeting outlined the agency's regional challenges to control water flow in the flood-prone Passaic River Basin's 935 square miles in 116 North Jersey and southern New York municipalities. Couch also fielded residents' comments on local flooding impact.

The meeting followed the submission in April of an 84-page report "Resilient Ridgewood" by graduate students in Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs to the village's Green Ridgewood committee. The report makes sweeping suggestions on how the village can reduce its flooding and carbon footprints

Most immediately, the Columbia report recommends instituting a homeowner "rain barrel" initiative to expand resident water retention in the village's uphill region west of the railroad tracks to reduce runoff and flooding to the village's lower regions east of the tracks. Ridgewood Water is already promoting rain barrel use for its additional benefit of conserving water in the summer.

Residents at the Army Corps of Engineers meeting blamed the increased flooding on climate change, increased impervious surfaces, installation of artificial turf on two sports fields next to the Ho-Ho-Kus Brook and upstream bridge widening that has increased downstream flow. Couch and the Columbia report emphasize that "there is no one solution to the flooding problem."

"I can tell you that it is not a solution that is going to come to fruition here in the village overnight, but if we are committed and we are dedicated, there is light at the end of the tunnel," Village Manager Keith Kazmark told residents at the Arm Corps meeting.

Flood insurance

Among the issues raised by residents during the meeting's public session was flood insurance. One resident said her insurance had increased from $1,100 to $5,179 over time because the Federal Emergency Management Agency had changed the village's rating.

The Resilient Ridgewood report explains that FEMA's Community Rating System assigns municipalities a rating of 1 (highest) to 10 (lowest) depending on the value of their water mitigation efforts beyond those required by the state and federal government. Each tier assigns a 5% discount to homeowner flood insurance premiums. The village's current rating is a 6, which the report states is "below average."

The problem, states the report, is that the FEMA data referred to by the Village Engineering Department is "incomplete in areas, further inhibiting precise calculations" that might improve its score. The report recommends the village appoint a "dedicated flooding team" of engineers and hydrologists or hire a full-time hydrologist and environmental planner in the engineering department dedicated only to "waterways and runoff."

"These measures will ensure that proper data is being collected at the municipal level and that everybody is united in knowing what the problem is and what needs to be done to rectify it," the report states.

Kazmark said the local Engineering Department "continues each year to strive to earn more points with the Community Rating System, and our engagement with the Army Corps of Engineers will only help us in that endeavor."

Schedler connection

The meeting and report come as local officials submitted a revised application to the State Historic Preservation Office in May seeking permission to install an artificial turf multi-purpose sports field and baseball diamond overlay on the historic Zabriskie Schedler property at 460 W. Saddle River Road.

The proposal argues the village has insufficient municipal and school sports fields to meet demand, and that an artificial turf field can more readily meet the need than a grass field because it does not need a "rest" period between games and after rain to remain playable. Opponents of the plan have argued that artificial turf raises concerns about soil and well water contaminants as well as injuries. However, proponents counter that weed killers and fertilizer for grass pose similar threats, plus increased upkeep required to keep grass fields playable.

The Columbia report states the artificial turf should be removed from Stevens Field and the adjacent high school Stadium Field in favor of grass to make the area more water-absorbent, paired with underground detention basins. The report reads that such a process would require the fields to be out of commission for two to three years and would further reduce available sports space. It makes no mention of where graduation would be held, currently on the high school football field in the absence of an auditorium or other indoor space large enough to hold the ceremony.

Opponents of the Schedler artificial turf field proposal have cited flooding from the "nearby" Saddle River as one of the reasons.

"There is no evidence there are wetlands on the property," Kazmark said. "The Saddle River does not flood Schedler."

The School District is working with the Village, the Army Corps and architectural firms "to assess when the fields do and don't flood, the type and number of storms, the congestion of debris and waster associated with the bridge near the stadium field," said the district's spokeswoman Christine Corliss.

"We hope to have more information to share in the coming year," Corliss said.

Green Ridgewood Chair David Refkin said the solution to Ridgewood's flooding is "multi-pronged."

"There's no one silver bullet," Refkin said. "There's a lot of things that we can do short term, medium term and long term. And the Army Corps is a potential long-term solution."

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Can Ridgewood's flooding issue be fixed with rain barrels, grass?