After major flooding in New Milford, Bergen County executive wants answers from water company
NEW MILFORD, N.J. -- Bergen County homeowners and officials are demanding answers from a water company after major flooding last week in New Milford.
Some say the company could do more to mitigate flooding in the area, CBS2's Kiran Dhillon reported Monday.
Andrew Tinker is fed up. His basement was underwater and his family was one of many who had to be rescued. He said it was the fifth time in 20 years that his home flooded.
"It's extremely inconvenient because I have a lot of stuff going on. I got no hot water now, no heat. So that's a challenge," Tinker said. "I'm frustrated, angry. What am I still doing here?"
Streets were submerged in waist-deep water and first responders used boats to reach people who were trapped in their homes.
Heavy rain that started Thursday night overwhelmed the Oradell Reservoir. The run-off swamped the Hackensack River, which crested Friday.
Bergen County Executive Jim Tedesco said the water company that controls the reservoir, Suez, did not inform local officials in time that flooding was possible so they, in turn, could urge residents to prepare.
"They know what's going to happen, right? They know what they're gonna do," Tedesco said. "Well why not tell us?"
Tedesco wants the company to commit to helping local officials mitigate flooding in the Hackensack River watershed area.
Suez executives said they're happy to meet, but they claim the company did notify local officials.
"We notified within probably a two-week timeframe that our reservoirs were full, so that any possibility of a storm of the magnitude that hit Thursday certainly could have caused that kind of flooding," said Rich Henning, a Suez spokesperson.
According to Suez, one solution to the area's flooding problem is a state program that purchases homes in the flood-prone area and knocks them down. But homeowners like Tinker say giving up their properties shouldn't be the only option.
"Somebody's gotta do something," Tinker said. "They should do it in a way where everybody can be saved."
Tinker wants officials to create a plan to help residents now, so he can stay in the home he loves and doesn't have to worry every time it rains.
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection sent the following statement:
The Oradell Reservoir serves as a water supply reservoir. The dam was not built for flood control purposes. The dam functioned as designed during the storm that dropped up to 3.5 inches of rain April 6-7 across a watershed encompassing some 113 square miles. During the recent storm, Veolia Water operated the spillway and associated spillway gates in accordance with an operations plan designed to ensure the dam's safe operation.
