Hopes for an Early Warning System for Island Flooding

AVALON – Avalon Borough Council is preparing to enter an agreement with the Atlantic Coastal Coalition in hopes of devising an early warning system for nuisance flooding. 
The term “nuisance flooding” is used to differentiate island floods caused by tidal activity augmented by the wind and long-duration rainfall from the more commonly thought of flooding caused by major storms.
Nuisance flooding is much more than an annoyance, causing significant property damage, especially to automobiles.
Warning systems for major storms like hurricanes or nor’easters are provided by the National Weather Service. No such warning is given when the high tide just after a new or full moon is given added height by sustained winds or heavy rain.
Flood mitigation has become an increasing concern in the county’s island communities as the occurrences of nuisance flooding have increased.
Avalon is about to try something that may allow for as much as a two-hour warning to property owners that a nuisance flood is likely. In this day of instant communication, that may be enough.
The Atlantic Coastal Coalition was started immediately after Sandy and focused on how to prevent property damage from flooding. Coalition leader Tom Quirk was present at the May 24 meeting to help pitch the proposed public-private partnership between the coalition and the borough.
The premise is simple. Working with Dr. Stewart Farrell, director and founder of the Coastal Research Center at Stockton University, the intention is to spend a year collecting data on nuisance flooding in the borough.
The data would be used to map vulnerable areas and link data on potentially dangerous tidal exchanges to an early warning system to property owners in the most vulnerable areas.
Farrell and his team would work with the borough to identify current locations where flooding is most prevalent. They would then install secure and largely unobtrusive water level sensors which will provide data over the course of an annual cycle.
The team would link this data to atmospheric and weather condition data already available, creating a detailed history of Avalon flooding and the conditions under which it occurs and where.
Using a tidal gauge in Atlantic City, the borough would theoretically then be able to predict the likelihood that a spring tide, for example, is going to hit levels that would flood certain areas because of the simultaneous impact of significant winds.
The tidal gauge should be able to provide at most a two-hour advanced warning that conditions are similar to those that produce nuisance flooding in the borough. 
The distance between Avalon and Atlantic City may add 30 minutes to that early warning.
Using instant communication mechanisms like an automated phone alert system or texting, the borough would then be able to notify property owners in advance to move automobiles or implement prearranged flood protection processes for their dwellings.
The Borough of Stone Harbor also discussed flood mitigation issues at its work session earlier in May. While debate rages on issues of climate change and human contributions to it, the reality for these island communities is that the seas are rising and flooding, whether caused by more frequent storms or tidal events or long duration rain.
Quirk noted that he was not talking about climate change. “I am talking about flooding,” he said.
The goal, as it was in the Stone Harbor discussion, is to avoid controversial, and at times immobilizing, debates and deal with the realities of flood mitigation.
The cost of this data collection process that will feed the eventual warning system is a total of $31,000. The Coastal Coalition has grant funding that will cover half the expense.
Longport will be part of the process as an Atlantic County municipality. With Avalon and Longport splitting the remaining costs based on relative size of the respective boroughs, the cost to Avalon will be $9,300.
It is expected that the Avalon Council will pass the necessary resolution at its next meeting.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.