Army Corps plans berm to contain Poplar Brook
The $5 million to $6 million mitigation plan, which the Ocean Township Council discussed during its Jan. 11 workshop meeting, calls for a 50-foot-wide buffer on either side of the berm and removal of several trees along the Whalepond Road section of the tract.
“There is going to be quite a difference between what that area looks like today and what it would look like if this project were to move forward,” Township Manager Andrew Brannen explained during the meeting.
“The berm requires 50 feet [of buffer space] on both sides with no plantings,” Brannen said. “You can apply for a waiver so that you can plant to within 15 feet of the berm, which obviously we would want to do … if we could.”
The mitigation plan is being prepared in response to the ongoing flooding issues associated with the brook.
Under the plan, the berm will be constructed inside the park and run roughly parallel to Whalepond Road.
An early rendering of the project shows the earthen structure graduating in height from ground level near the park’s Whalepond Road parking lot to a maximum height of 15 feet across from Shadow Lawn Drive. From that point it will gradually scale down to ground level and run to the west through the park behind properties along Dow Avenue.
The berm will act as a dam to hold back Poplar Brook from overflowing during heavy rains and flooding homes and businesses along its path.
The last major storm event took place in 2005 and saw more than 30 apartments at the Polar Village senior housing development completely destroyed.
In addition to the berm, the Army Corps’ plans call for a water detention basin. The berm would slow the flow of stormwater to the brook, directing it into the detention basin. The water would then be slowly released from the basin into the brook or percolate into the ground, according to Brannen.
Previous mitigation plans called for the berm to be constructed adjacent to Whalepond Road, Brannen explained.
However, the Army Corps decided against the idea, instead choosing to move the berm farther into the park to create a safety area for nearby homes in case floodwaters breached the structure.
In the revised plan, the berm will be surrounded on both sides by trees and create a natural buffer from the roadway.
Because the berm will cause water to pool inside the park, Brannen said several of the buildings located inside the park, specifically those used by the township for housing cell tower equipment, will have to be demolished.
“The buildings would be demolished and the area where they are located would be turned into wetlands to make up for the wetlands that are being disturbed by the creation of the berm,” Brannen explained.
The fact that the project would disturb the wetlands means that the project will require several levels of approval.
To avoid the need for approvals from several agencies, Deputy Mayor David Heirs suggested the township look into the possibility of elevating or relocating some properties along the brook through the use of Federal EmergencyManagementAgency (FEMA) grants.
“What gets me is the impact of the environmental part of this,” Heirs said.
According to Brannen, the Army Corps is working on a feasibility study for the berm project, which is expected to be completed next year.
Following its completion, the Army Corps must review the study and have it approved by officials with the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Monmouth County Park System.
Because the berm project is only in its initial stages, Brannen said the township could opt out at any time.
Roughly $4 million has already been set aside for the project, which is expected to cover the remainder of the feasibility study, a complete design of the berm and some 60 to 75 percent of the construction costs.
Some 65 percent of the project’s total cost is expected to be covered by the federal government while the remaining 35 percent will be covered by a combination of state and township funds.
