DEP Reviewing Report on Floodgate Study

A report on the operation of the floodgates on the Pompton River dam is being reviewed by the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). 

DEP spokesman Lawrence Hajna said local officials, including mayors and township engineers in the Passaic River Flood Basin, would also review the report before it is made public.

Hajna said the DEP is in the process of scheduling a meeting with the officials to discuss the report. He did not say when the meeting would occur.

“We want to give local officials the courtesy of reviewing the report first,” Hajna said.

AECOM, an international, technical and management support services firm based in California, is also reviewing the report, Hajna said.

Mayor Christopher Vergano declined to comment. 

Governor Christie last year said the report would be complete Feb. 1.

Christie after touring flood-ravaged areas in the basin after Hurricane Irene struck the area in August of last year. Christie ordered the gates to alleviate potential flooding.

Despite 3 feet of water being drained from behind the dam, residents below the dam still said it was the worst flooding they’d ever seen.

The computer-controlled gates are managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. They open automatically when the water behind the dam reaches a certain level. The gates became operational in 2007.

Residents who live below the dam said that the gates exacerbate flooding in their neighborhoods.

“We never had water in our home until those gates became operational,” said Phyllis Serio. Serio lives on South Road, right next to the Pompton River. “We had 8 feet of water in the basement when Irene hit. What a mess.”

Other residents said the gates cause the water to rush out from behind the dam faster than it should.

“When Irene hit, the water came down here so fast it was scary,” said Gale Goskowski.

Goskowski said she had more than 4 feet of water in her Colville Road house after Irene struck.

“Anytime it rained we got water in our house, but we were always able to keep it from destroying anything,” Goskowski said. “Now, it’s scary.”