Wayne Mayor Decries State Decision Not To Open Pompton Lake Dam Early

WAYNE, NJ — State officials said they will not manually open the Pompton Lakes Dam floodgates ahead of the next major storm to hit New Jersey, despite pleas from four mayors downstream to lower the lake levels.

With the very real possibility of flooding in mind, the mayors of Wayne, Lincoln Park, Pequannock, and Pompton Lakes asked environmental officials to open the gates early. Officials said this could help prevent a flood surge if the water were to rise high enough to activate gates automatically, and potentially relieve downriver residents of having to evacuate, or seeing their homes and cars flooded again.

In a letter sent Monday, Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette said that lowering Pompton Lake would provide "no downstream benefits" and the water released would only represent a small amount of the total volume of runoff from the lake watershed.

"...based upon our review at the time, DEP cannot recommend early release from the facility a means of potential downstream flood mitigation," he wrote.

The entire state is under a flood watch, as a fierce storm with the potential to dump several inches of rain approaches on Tuesday. And in communities that are already water-logged, officials are worried about more flooding caused by melting snow and incoming rain.

Between 2 and 3 inches of rain are possible in Wayne Township on Tuesday, after a weekend that saw more than 4 inches of snow. And, forecasters predict that the Pompton River and Passaic River will rise close to or above major flood stage by Thursday afternoon.

Wayne Mayor Christopher Vergano had said he wanted to "give every advantage possible to those residents living south of the gates that are still recovering from our recent flooding" in a post Sunday, when he said he had reached out to state officials. In December, hundreds of residents had to evacuate their homes and dozens were rescued when a storm caused the Passaic River to rise and begin flooding Wayne Township and other local communities.

In his letter to the mayors, LaTourette also said that the DEP must adhere to the operating protocol for the Pompton Lakes Dam. The facility, built in 2007, is designed to reduce upstream flood damage to homes in Bergen County while not contributing to downstream flooding.

LaTourette also said that managing the floodgates "as a surrogate for proactive downstream flood risk reduction" could potentially lull residents into " a false sense of security while offering only a perceived benefit to potential downstream flood victims."

Vergano said he was "truly disappointed" in the DEP's decision in a follow-up statement on Monday.

"This was our proactive suggestion to help mitigate a terrible situation that is going to occur over the next few days," he said.

"We are going to see extreme flooding and the State has refused to help our residents," Vergano wrote.

A flood watch is in effect in Wayne from Tuesday at 6 p.m. until Wednesday at 6 p.m. Also, a wind advisory is in effect from Tuesday at 6 p.m. until Wednesday at 6 a.m.

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