W热带风暴艾达(Ida)的亨残留物席卷了新泽西州的米尔本(Millburn),在纽约市以西25英里处 - 最终,导致的洪水并不令人惊讶。9月1日,新泽西州的10英寸降雨是纽约都会区最重的雨水,将拉赫韦河的西部分支推向其河岸上,并进入了许多繁荣的小镇的房屋和企业。

巨大的倾盆大雨经常压倒新泽西州北部的河流,小溪和下水道。米尔伯恩镇副市长理查德·瓦瑟曼(Richard Wasserman)告诉当地电视台,该镇长期以来一直致力于基础设施和防洪。他说:“我们以前有过这个。这是一项持续的努力。”

在某些方面,米尔本的经验就是该州反复发生的洪水控制挫败感的一个例子:无效的地方政府试图阻止拥有当地资源的大风暴的损失;依靠联邦资金来缓慢开发大型区域修复;以及与受影响的城镇的分歧,即如何进行进一步减慢过程。

See Rahway River watershed map below

现在,随着更险恶的天气tied to climate change, New Jersey finds itself at a crossroads.

"After roughly 50 years watching floods happen in N.J., it does get discouraging," Daniel J. Van Abs, a professor in Rutgers University's School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, wrote in an email. "But every once in a while an issue gains momentum at the right time, and funds flow. You just have to hope that it doesn't require a total catastrophe to get that momentum."

米尔本清理行人在新泽西州中部米尔伯恩市的一个关键十字路口进行清理工作,那里的家具店把洪水泛滥的物品放在人行道上。

本月的洪水加剧了这个问题。在新泽西州,造成27人死亡归因于洪水,大约一半涉及被洪水捕获的车辆。在新泽西州伊丽莎白的房屋中,有四人死亡。

州官员说,他们打算重新启动拉韦河洪水风险管理可行性研究新利18备用previously undertaken by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which proposed a series of projects to reduce flood risks.

“Events like Tropical Storm Ida make New Jersey’s need for climate and flood resilience solutions all the more clear and our strong state-federal partnership with the [Corps] is key to the design and implementation of mitigation projects,” said New Jersey Dept. of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette.

米尔本(Millburn)所在的埃塞克斯郡(Essex County)没有立即赢得联邦名称为灾区,担心需要获得联邦复苏和弹性资金的企业将无法获得。

"Many Millburn businesses and families were devastated by the flood waters and have lost so much. Many do not have the resources to rebuild without federal financial assistance,"said Heather Jenquine, executive director of the Millburn-Short Hills Chamber of Commerce.

拉韦河分支拉赫韦河(Rahway River)的一部分流经新泽西州米尔伯恩(Millburn)的住宅区。.

Hurricanes Floyd in 1999 and Irene in 2011 both flooded areas of Millburn, Jenquine noted. "There have been ongoing discussions each time about how we are going to mitigate the risks to businesses and homes. This is becoming more urgent as these weather-related events are happening with increased frequencies...we can't let this continue to happen."

有关该问题的研究定期进行。

2013年,当时的政府管理。克里斯·克里斯蒂(Chris Christie)(R)在超级风暴桑迪(Superstorm Sandy)之后由六所大学和大学资助了研究。他们旨在解决兵团内部防洪研究未解决的暴风雨问题。

第二年,军团报告了其Rahway River Basin洪水风险管理可行性研究的发现,该研究主要集中在严重的洪水风险和先前的洪水袭击米尔本以南约8英里处的新泽西州克兰福德。新利18备用该研究建议新利18备用了许多替代方案,包括挖泥橙水库,拘留所的扩张,河道的渠道变化,南部山区保留地(与米尔伯恩相邻的公园和休闲区)以及保留区中河流的一部分。

In 2015, Millburn, with a population just over 20,000, was one of seven northern New Jersey towns along the Rahway River watershed to enter a pact to study and combat flooding. Millburn's township committee agreed to pay up to $10,000 for cost-sharing funding of surveys and studies.

Millburn also carried out its own engineering review of the flood situation. In 2018, consulting engineer Mott MacDonald, commenting on the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, reviewed the town's current flood control program. It noted that 2011's Hurricane Irene had dropped 8.92 in. of rain on nearby Newark over two days on already saturated ground. Peak stream flows during Hurricane Irene reached 8,620 cfs, surpassing those of Hurricane Floyd.

The New Jersey Dept. of Environmental Planning lacks resources for long-range flood control planning, "especially when it may require a decade or two of concerted effort."
罗格斯大学教授丹尼尔·J·范·阿布

尽管米尔本已经安装了底堤,泵站和雨水,但莫特·麦克唐纳(Mott MacDonald)表示,“洪水控制有局限性”,“没有消除所有洪水”。

Then 2019 turned out to be a critical year. After the Corps had outlined its alternatives involving channeling, deepening of detention basins and adding a dam in the South Mountain Preserve, the plans died on the table and the Corps sought to end its study.

县报纸《埃塞克斯新闻日报》说,原因之一是“认为当地社区缺乏买入。”

报纸写道,主要的症状是一个军团的替代计划 - 南山保留地的大坝,反对者声称这将不可逆转地破坏野生动植物保护区和当地环境。

“我们要么必须将其拿走,要么就在保留区中建造某种水坝的建议,以应对拉赫韦河西部分支的洪水,” Maplewood市长维克·德鲁卡(Vic DeLuca)援引说。“反对在整个过程中一直是我们确实认识到下游洪水的严重性,尤其是在联盟,斯普林菲尔德和克兰福德,但我们不能为此牺牲保留。这就是我一直在争论的;这就是米尔本市长一直在争论的原因。”

罗格斯(Rutgers)的范阿布(Van ABS)指出,修改南山预订将需要国家许可作为非公园目的的公园土地转移。“那是一个沉重的举重,”范·艾伯(Van Abs)说。

范·艾伯(Van ABS)说,更广泛地说,军团依靠国家环境官员来处理关键职能,例如了解当地社区想要和将支持什么。但是,新泽西州环境规划部缺乏用于远程防洪计划的资源,“尤其是在可能需要十年或两年的协同努力时。”

范阿布说,军团实质上是在“黑匣子,突然出来或开会的”中工作。

范·艾伯(Van Abs)说,由于军团尚未准备好应对所有当地问题,该州缺乏资源来管理长达数十年的洪水控制工作,他本人呼吁形成区域洪水控制当局,以接管并“思考很小”,“思考”作为围绕洪水破坏的最现实的方式。

米尔本官员现在如何看待该镇的洪水控制未来尚不清楚。无法立即联系城镇官员,讨论报道的对军团提案的反对或洪水控制的远程未来。

这些官员很忙。到9月4日,米尔伯恩市官员报告说,消防部门正在通过670个呼吁援助以将水从地下抽水的积压工作,并努力将联邦灾难指定的损害记录为另一个问题。

在对当地电视记者的讲话中,副市长瓦瑟曼(Wasserman)确实谈到了米尔伯恩(Millburn)长期的洪水控制努力及其限制。他说:“当这么多的水变得如此之快……我不确定是否有答案。如果10英寸,您知道,这很快就会发生。”

分水岭地图Rahway河长24英里,有四个分支,并提供许多目的,包括供水以及野生动植物的栖息地和娱乐场所,在其流过的城镇和县。地图:由拉威河流域协会提供