Wildwood Wins Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award

WILDWOOD – The city has been selected as the winner for the 2009 New Jersey Governor’s
Environmental Excellence Awards. The award is for storm water infrastructure improvements designed to
reduce flooding, especially along the Back Bay area of the city.
Wildwood received $437,455 in federal funds from the US Environmental Protection Agency for this project,
which involved major improvements to improve drainage at three intersections: Baker and Susquehanna,
Montgomery and Hudson, and Magnolia and Lake. New manholes, catch basins and storm piping were
installed or repaired. Additionally, the surrounding streets and curbs were repaired at these intersections.
Twelve new tide flex valves were also installed on the Back Bay storm drain outfall pipes. The old valves had
exceeded their life expectancies and only partially held back the bay water as it fluctuated from low tide to high
tide. Ten other tide flex valves had been replaced within the past five years for a total replacement of twenty-
two valves.
“Wildwood is very proud to have been selected for this prestigious award,” said Mayor Ernie Troiano, Jr.. “I have
made improving the city’s infrastructure and alleviating the flooding a top priority. To have had our project
receive statewide recognition shows we’re heading in the right direction.”
Governor Corzine and Mark Mauriello, Acting Commissioner of the NJ Department of Environmental
Protection, will present the award to Mayor Troiano at a ceremony on Thursday, December 3, 2009 at
Drumthwacket, the official residence of the Governor located in Princeton.
Accompanying Troiano will be Glenn Balmer, Wildwood Sewer Utility Superintendent and Storm
Water Program Coordinator, Bill Staples, Assistant Sewer Utility Superintendent and Jim McGoldrick,
representing CMX Engineers, who designed the Storm Water Project.
“Wildwood has taken several proactive measures to help correct the decades-old drainage problem and mitigate the flooding, while improving storm water runoff,” said Glenn Balmer. “We’ve made more sewer system infrastructure improvements in the past ten years than the city made in the previous sixty years combined.”