Orchard Creek, in the area of Lentz Court, will be evaluated for flood control measures under a contract awarded by City Council last month.
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At its July 8 regular meeting, City Council adopted a resolution (AR-161-24) awarding a $30,350 engineering services contract to Najarian Associates, which will conduct a “flood feasibility study for flood mitigation” of Orchard Creek at Lentz Court and Madison Avenue in the city’s 3rd Ward near the Colonia border.
The Eatontown-based engineering firm submitted a proposal June 3 for a flood feasibility study. “Options for flood control in fully developed areas tend to be limited,” according to the proposal.’
The firm will evaluate the area for the sources of flood including overbank flows, stormwater system sizing, and maintenance issues. Anticipated options are expected to include, but may not be limited to:
- Stream and infrastructure maintenance enhancements
- Stormwater upgrades or modifications
- Stream modifications
- Elevation of structures
- Buyouts of homes
Two areas along the stream are mapped as “repetitive loss areas” although the Lentz Court area is not, according to the proposal. Homes are within the FEMA mapped flood zone, with several within the floodway. “The stream in this area is both an open channel with culverts under the roads. The stream become piped at Orchard Street, near an area mapped as a repetitive loss.”
Homes on Lentz Court along the riverbank are up to 4 feet below the Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA) 100-year Base Flood Elevation, which ranges from 25 to 30 feet. The 10-year flood elevation according to the FEMA Flood Insurance Study for Middlesex County is only about 1 foot lower. Current state Department of Environmental Protection Design Flood Elevations would be 3 feet higher “and thus, further inundate these homes,” according to Najarian.
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I have to laugh at a possible option is stream maintenance “enhancements”.. We have a home on Lentz Court for 46 years and can recall only once that a crew of 2-3 picked up some fallen tree branches. Parts of this stream are so overgrown you cannot see the water.