NORTH CAPE MAY – The widely-anticipated bidding to begin the Roseann Avenue flood mitigation project will be delayed according to Steven Morey of Mott MacDonald, the engineering firm managing the project.
This work is designed to address the recurrent flooding problem that has plagued residents of the area of the 200 block of Roseann Avenue for decades.
Previous work has been done to rid sewer pipes of sand and other materials to expedite water flow from the area; additional work has been done to replace water and sewer pipes in the affected area.
A house at the end of the 300 block of Roseann Avenue was recently demolished to make way for the installation of a pump house that will drain the neighborhood into the Coxe Hall Creek watershed.
Mary Felber, a 15-year resident of the 300 block of Roseann Avenue near the demolished house, commented that the bulldozers came last week and knocked down the house after the fire department had practiced making holes on its roof. It was one of the newer houses in the area.
“It’s a shame they had to do that, the people were only there for a few years,” Felber added. She stated that the flooding occurs in the 200 block where the road is torn up from previous work done on the water and sewer pipes.
She hopes that the road can soon be re-paved because it is bumpy. Felber stated that she was told that the site of the pump house would be landscaped in a park-like manner; she hopes a fence will be constructed around the pump.
Morey stated that the project delay was caused by groundwater testing at the site of that pump house that revealed higher than permitted levels of some metals and other materials.
The strict state Department of Environmental Protection standards for groundwater content seek to prevent contamination caused by excavations that may expose dangerous substances to the public. He stressed that the readings do not reflect any problem with the drinking water system, but pertain to the naturally-occurring water found in the soil when excavating.
The project will “dewater” the area, and that is the water that must be tested.
Based on the preliminary analysis, the groundwater must be addressed before beginning any project of this size. Because of that fact, the township is applying for a “next level” permit to re-test the soil to decide how to deal with possibly contaminated water in the soil before the project can start.
Morey was unable to estimate how long the project would be delayed saying that it may not be a long delay, depending on the results of the next permit testing analysis.
To contact Jim McCarty, email jmccarty@cmcherald.com.
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Do you think it's appropriate for BLM to call for "Burning down the city" and "Black Vigilantes" because…
