New Jersey is no stranger to extreme storm events. Last September, Tropical Storm Ida dumped a record nine inches on the state, leading to flash floods that ended up taking the lives of 30 residents. The storm once again focused attention on the state’s problems with managing stormwater, an issue singled out as the main cause of polluting streams, rivers and lakes.
Last week, NJ Spotlight News hosted a virtual roundtable discussion among a panel of experts about what can be done to rectify those problems as scientists warn that such events are only going to increase as the climate crisis worsens and the planet heats up, and the capacity of the atmosphere to hold more water rises.
Since 1999, New Jersey has seen a rise in precipitation of between 2% and 10%, according to Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette. Between now and the end of the century, the state could experience an increase in precipitation of anywhere from 20% to 50%, he said. Fixing water infrastructure could cost $30 billion.
Watch the full discussion on the above video.
Opening remarks:
Daniel J. Van Abs, PhD, FAICP/PP, Professor of Professional Practice for Water, Society and Environment, Department of Human Ecology, Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences
Panelists:
Jennifer M. Coffey, Executive Director, Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions (ANJEC)
Shawn M. LaTourette, Commissioner, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP)
Mark K. McDonough, President of New Jersey American Water; Senior Vice President, American Water
Sen. Bob Smith, New Jersey State Senate, 17th Legislative District
Moderator:
Tom Johnson, Energy & Environment Writer, NJ Spotlight News
The following are edited excerpts from the conversation:
How stormwater became a problem:
Daniel J. Van Abs: “We spent centuries putting things in dangerous places, especially during our major growth spurts from 1890 to 1930, which was the big city development phase and from 1950 to 1970, which was the big suburban development phase with 3 million new people in the suburbs.
“And then we’re constantly surprised when damages occur. In some cases, these damages are local due to inadequate stormwater systems that cause street neighborhood flooding. In other cases, the problems are larger, with major river flooding — the Delaware, the Raritan, the Passaic and so on … Our reaction generally has been over the centuries to rebuild in the same place.’’
Designing a better system for managing runoff:
Shawn LaTourette: “We have a really hard problem in New Jersey because every single one of our stormwater systems is too small because we don’t base the design of, well anything, on current data. The last point of data is from 1999 … So from my perspective, at DEP we’re going to change that.
“We can create good-paying jobs, family-sustaining jobs whilst we upgrade our water infrastructure, rightsize those stormwater systems, keep the water from our families. But we can only do that together. We’re embarking upon the development of the state’s water infrastructure investment plan, funded in part by the [federal] bipartisan infrastructure law and continue state fiscal support from Gov. Murphy and our Legislature because we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build upon our community while we prepare ourselves to face what’s immediately in front of us and be ready for what’s to come.’’
How much investment do you expect for upgrading water infrastructure?
LaTourette: “Don’t be distracted by the fact that while we may have an investment from the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) — $170 million — and at least an equivalent amount of state funds by function of our continuing revolving fund that gets replenished every year by loan repayments because what we do is leverage those funds to create an incredible amount of investment.
“With the infusion of the new federal funds, we will effectively put that on steroids. We’re projecting approximately a billion dollars in project growth could be supported in the 2022 to 2023 cycle.’’
In 2019, a new law allowed communities to set up stormwater utilities, and with a financing mechanism to begin addressing problems involving stormwater runoff. So far, however, there have been no takers. Is that going to change?
Sen. Bob Smith (the sponsor of the law): “The stormwater utilities are going to happen because people are going to get smashed and smashed and smashed. I mean, it’s coming and it’s already been here.
“And the great thing about stormwater utilities is that they provide another mechanism to fund the needed infrastructure to provide some protection for our citizens.
What the private sector is doing about stormwater problems:
Mark K. McDonough: “We’ve been investing. We spend about $400 million a year. We’ll spend about $1.5 billion over the next four years of our money investing in our systems, primarily again to harden them and address the impact of climate change … It’s the really day-to-day effort to recapitalize our systems and make them resilient.
“That is the most important work we do because you can build a giant floodwall to keep the water out, but if your pipes and pumps and pumping stations aren’t capable of dealing with that inundation of water, it’s all for naught.’’
What else can be done?
Jennifer M. Coffey: “It’s a climate crisis we have. And we have development in too much of the wrong places. So I would say, first and foremost, for a community dealing with flooding is to stop digging. When you are in a hole and you want to get out of it, stop digging.
“Stop putting people in places, in land areas, that we know flood and that we know are going to flood … Stop making the problem worse. Number two, I would say you need absolutely to look at stormwater utilities and go back to what Senator Smith said.
“Stormwater utilities are a fair and equitable way to create a sustainable financing structure so that you can construct stormwater management.’’
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