By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
More and more communities at the Jersey Shore are relying on pumping stations that intercept floodwater and channel it back into the bay much faster than it would normally take to drain off the streets after a coastal storm.
Sea Isle City is among them, having installed its first stormwater pumping station in 2019 for the flood-prone bayfront neighborhood of 38th Street and Sounds Avenue.
The city wants to build its second pumping station in another area of town vulnerable to flooding, but it is looking for help from the federal government to pay for a project expected to cost more than $2 million.
The pumping station is proposed for a large swath of town from 44th to 47th streets between Landis Avenue and Park Road, including Central Avenue.
As effective as pumping stations may be, they are expensive to build, though.
Sea Isle has applied for a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help underwrite the cost. City spokeswoman Katherine Custer said the pumping station would cost about $2.3 million to build.
So-called “soft costs” that include surveying, engineering and legal work would boost the entire price tag to about $2.7 million, Custer noted.
This is the second time Sea Isle has applied to FEMA for a pumping station grant. The first time the application was rejected, so the city has supplied FEMA with more technical information showing how the project would be cost effective, Custer said.
In a key first step, the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management has given its approval for Sea Isle’s application. FEMA is expected to make its decision this spring.
“We have submitted a substantial grant application to FEMA for a pump station that will serve the drainage area between 44th and 47th streets. This is part of our ongoing program to systematically install storm-water pump stations,” Mayor Leonard Desiderio said in a statement.
If FEMA approves the grant, construction would begin in 2022 and take about four months to complete the pumping station, Custer said.
Ocean City and Avalon are among the neighboring shore towns that have had success using pumping stations to reduce flooding. The effectiveness of Sea Isle’s first pumping station on 38th Street and Sounds Avenue has encouraged the city to build another one between 44th and 47th streets, Custer explained.
“I can tell you that if it didn’t work, they wouldn’t move forward with another project,” she said. “Because they’re working, that is the catalyst for another project.”
An engineering study conducted in 2018 recommended a total of 10 pumping stations located throughout Sea Isle to protect the low-lying island from flooding.
Eight of the 10 areas recommended for pumping stations are tied into Cape May County’s drainage network. That raises the possibility of funding partnerships between Sea Isle and the county to build the projects, Desiderio pointed out.
“As we move forward, we’ll partner with the county, as much of our storm-water infrastructure is under their jurisdiction,” he said.
Sea Isle’s broad stormwater strategy includes combining the pumping stations with other flood-control measures, such as road construction and drainage improvements.
“In addition to pump stations, we’re also continuing with other drainage projects to improve conditions as much as possible, understanding the challenges we face on a barrier island,” Desiderio said.
City Council on Tuesday approved a new drainage project on 40th Street from Central Avenue to Kneass Street, an area that suffers from chronic flooding. A new pipeline will tie the drainage system into the existing pumping station at the bay end of 38th Street to reduce flooding in the area of 40th and Central, the mayor said.
In September 2019, Sea Isle completed its first pumping station in the flood-plagued bayfront neighborhood of Sounds Avenue and 38th Street. The project cost about $800,000.
The three pumps comprising the station are located under the street, completely out of view from homeowners. An 18-foot-deep hole was dug for the pumping station’s chamber and is covered with asphalt.
Other than a large drainage pipe that feeds floodwater into the bay, the only major thing that is visible of the pumping station is a box-like electrical panel mounted on an elevated platform that resembles a staircase. The panel contains the controls for the pumping station and is located well above any floodwaters.
The pumping station has been incorporated with other measures to protect the neighborhood, including better drainage systems and a rock wall designed to prevent stormwater from rushing in from the surrounding marshlands.
Sea Isle officials have said the neighborhood of 38th and Sounds will serve as a model for how the city government intends to protect the entire island from coastal storms in years to come.
