DESCRIPTION: The project involves the construction of features for flood protection along the Ramapo River from Pompton Lake in Wayne Township and the Borough of Pompton Lakes, upstream through the Borough of Oakland to West Oakland Avenue, a distance of 3.3 miles. The authorized plan for flood damage reduction along the project area includes channel modification of 5,800 feet of the Ramapo River and the relocation of the Doty Road Bridge. The authorized plan also calls for the installation of flood control gates at the existing Pompton Lake Dam. Mitigation for the environmental impacts of the plan includes the creation of an eight-acre wetland in Potash Lake. The principal problem along the Ramapo River is flooding caused by the backwater effect produced by the Pompton Lake Dam, the hydraulic constrictions produced by bridges crossing the river, and insufficient channel capacity. Flooding has occurred frequently, with the most recent events in 1968, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1993, January 1996, September 1999, April 2005, October 2005, April 2007 and March 2010. The April 1984 flood was the most severe causing $9,500,000 in damages (October 1995 price level). The flood had a recurrence frequency of 2 percent (a 50-year flood event). It is estimated that if a storm with a 1 percent recurrence frequency (100-year event) were to occur, approximately 350 structures would sustain damages, resulting in approximately $11,600,000 in damages (October 1995 price level).
AUTHORIZATION: The Ramapo River was studied as part of the Passaic River Basin Phase I Advanced Engineering and Design Study which was authorized by the Water Resources Development Act of 1976 (Public Law 94-587, October 22, 1976). Congressional guidance for the conduct of the study is included in House of Representatives Report 94-1702. The project was authorized for construction under the Section 401 (a) Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 1986 (Public Law 99-662) and reauthorized in Section 301 (a) WRDA 1996 (PL 104-303). The sponsor is the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
STATUS: The overall project including the widening and deepening of the existing Ramapo River, creation of wetlands in Potash Lake, and the installation of flood control gates at the Pompton Lake Dam was completed in 2007 at a total cost of $21,600,000. The completed project is operated and maintained by the project sponsor, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP). After the March 2010 Nor’easter, NJDEP requested the USACE prepare a Post-Flood Report which was completed and turned over to NJDEP in July 2010. Funds were received in 2010 through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to perform repairs to the mitigation weir damaged in the April 2007 Nor’easter. Construction on the weir was completed in June 2011. The Corps inspects the project annually and revised the O&M manual as per request from the sponsor.
CONTACT:
Ms. Rifat Salim
Project Manager
P: (917) 790-8215
Email: rifat.salim@usace.army.mil
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District
Programs and Project Management Division
26 Federal Plaza
New York, NY 10278
CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS: NJ-05, NJ-08