New homes and swimming pools will now be required to have recharge systems to help alleviate flooding.
By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Sea Isle City, continuing its efforts to reduce flooding on the low-lying barrier island, has approved a new ordinance that strengthens its stormwater management systems to include “minor developments” such as home construction and new swimming pools.
Approved by City Council at its Aug. 25 meeting, the ordinance is designed to meet or even exceed stormwater management standards set by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“The City seeks to meet, exceed, and enforce such standards in pursuit of maintaining a safe and flood-free community,” the ordinance says.
Sea Isle already has a stormwater management ordinance that includes “major developments” such as commercial projects that are built on an acre of land or more.
The new ordinance adds “minor developments” that would be built on less than one acre of land, including single-family homes, duplexes and swimming pools, City Solicitor Paul Baldini said.
Smaller construction projects such as new homes and pools will now have to comply with stormwater management measures, including erosion control, groundwater recharge and stormwater runoff.
Baldini explained that those types of projects will be required to have recharge systems that capture stormwater through a series of pipes buried underground. The perforated pipes will allow stormwater to seep into the ground naturally instead of flushing it out on the street and making flooding even worse.
“If you have a recharge system, it will be that much longer when you’ll have any flooding on your property,” Baldini said in an interview Monday.
He estimated that property owners would typically spend $2,000 to $4,000 to have recharge systems installed for their new homes or pools.
Sea Isle is not the first Cape May County beach town to have an ordinance of this type. Avalon also has stormwater management requirements for home construction and swimming pools, Baldini said.
As a low-lying barrier island, Sea Isle remains vulnerable to floodwater.
One of the benefits to Sea Isle for having stringent stormwater management standards is to maintain its high standing in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA.
By strengthening its stormwater ordinance, the city will be in position to earn extra points as part of FEMA’s Community Rating System for the NFIP.
“The City seeks to maintain its current rating or increase its rating by the Community Rating System classification with FEMA; and the City seeks to maintain its current discount or receive a larger discount on flood insurance,” the ordinance says.
Sea Isle is among only a few cities and towns in the country to have obtained a “Class 3” community rating within the NFIP, entitling local property owners to a 35 percent discount on their flood insurance policies.
Ultimately, Sea Isle hopes to accumulate enough points to move up from “Class 3” to “Class 2” status in the ratings system, which would provide local homeowners with even bigger discounts for their flood insurance policies.
FEMA’s 2019 nationwide listing of cities and towns that are part of the NFIP community ratings shows that Sea Isle is the only New Jersey municipality to have achieved a “Class 3” ranking.
Over the years, Sea Isle has implemented a series of major flood-mitigation projects, such as restoring the beaches and dunes, building bulkheads along the bayfront, reconstructing the roads, upgrading the drainage systems and erecting berms, levees and rock walls.
Sea Isle took another step to solidify its ranking in the NFIP by creating a special trust fund in June that will help finance flood-control projects on the island.
Flashing signs installed throughout the city in 2019 are part of Sea Isle's flood-warning system.
