BAY HEAD — The borough is taking steps to mitigate flooding and drainage issues on streets throughout Bay Head, according to updates given by the Bay Head Environmental Commission [BHEC].
BHEC Chairman Dan Paulus said in an interview with The Ocean Star on Wednesday, “From a flooding standpoint, [the BHEC] continue to evaluate things, look at things, but I would say the Commission has had a lot of work identifying them. Now we are looking for creative ways to fund what we have identified.
Mr. Paulus said the BHEC has worked to pick a lot of the “low-hanging fruit” projects in town to quickly improve problem areas in town, and has worked to identify many more solutions to other flooding issues in the borough.
“We have done a lot of planning, the next steps are spending on plans and designs to get shovel-ready projects,” said Mr. Paulus.
Hurricane and nor’easter season is on the horizon, with the looming storm of Hurricane Lee expected to bring rough seas Friday and Saturday, along with clouds and breezy conditions for many shore towns. Mr. Paulus said in regards to this time of year, “When we have offshore hurricanes, we tend to get beach erosion, which is never good and that’s a separate issue, but we have our elevation and rock [barriers] there, put in place to do its job.”
He referenced Superstorm Sandy, and how this was a perfect storm when the water came up from the bay and met with the ocean, causing catastrophic flooding in Bay Head, and many shore communities on the island.
He further explained that flooding is inevitable in Bay Head, but with the years and years of research from many storms, areas can be anticipated where they will flood and the BHEC and borough can prepare and plan around in case of worse storms.
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