By MADDY VITALE
To ensure that the new flood warning system signs in Sea Isle City are operating properly, the company that installed them last winter came back this week to not only do maintenance work, but also make some enhancements.
The system consists of 78 flashing road signs located in the most flood-prone areas in town. The warning system is designed to prevent people from driving through flood waters.
But like anything else that is new, Police Chief Tom McQuillen explained Tuesday that there are "some growing pains."
“They are doing some improvements and enhancement to the system,” McQuillen said. “There are some growing pains. Some tweaking needs to be made.”
The flood warning system, which Sea Isle officials say is the largest of its kind in the state, was manufactured by TAPCO Traffic and Parking Control Co., of Brown Deer, Wisconsin.
The road signs were supplied by Garden State Highway Products, of Millville. They are solar-powered and include the words “Road Flooded When Flashing.”
McQuillen said this is the third time that TAPCO workers have come back to make improvements and do maintenance over the past year. The signs were installed in March.
“The company has come in over the last year to make some improvements and to enhance the overall reliability and performance of the system,” McQuillen said.
When the signs were unveiled, McQuillen said he hoped the new system would prevent motorists from venturing into rising flood waters.
He also credited Brian Teefy, the city’s traffic maintenance supervisor, for coming up with the idea for having the warning system in Sea Isle.
Police Chief Tom McQuillen, along with Mayor Leonard Desiderio, at left by podium, were among the officials at the unveiling of the flood warning system in March.
McQuillen said the maintenance crews arrived on Monday and would be working through Thursday, so residents and visitors may see the signs blinking on and off while testing is taking place.
He added, “We’ve had some bumps in the road and TAPCO has been responsive to our concerns. We are working very closely with them to improve and enhance the system.”
When storm water is rising within a particular zone, a “float system” detects the flooding and will activate the flashing warning signs in that area, according to information supplied by officials when the system was installed.
The police department also can manually operate the flashing signs if it’s determined that flooding is imminent.
Every zone in the system has a camera mounted on a “master pole,” which can be viewed from the police department dispatch center. The cameras will allow the police department to visually confirm if there is an actual flood or if it is a false alarm.
Sea Isle Public Information Officer Katherine Custer explained why it is crucial to have a reliable flood warning system in place and why it is important to have maintenance work done on it.
“Our administration and elected officials take flooding very seriously. That is why we have the signs installed and why we have efforts in motion in other areas to raise awareness and continually improve Sea Isle City’s floodplain management efforts,” Custer said.
For example, she noted, Sea Isle installed a flood camera at 40th Street and Central Avenue. The city’s municipal website
http://new.sea-isle-city.nj.us/ has links to a host of information pertaining to flooding.
“We have many links on the municipal website, including a link to the Stevens Institute tide gauge installed in the marina. We have a lot of information on the website," Custer said. Our Floodplain Management Committee continually is striving to improve our flood standards and ensure that our discounts in flood insurance are secure."
Sea Isle City has a 35 percent discount on National Flood Insurance premiums by having a Class 3 rating in the Community Rating System, the best of any New Jersey coastal community.
Sea Isle City, a low-lying barrier island town, is vulnerable to coastal flooding.
