Can this city hit hard by Hurricane Sandy be a model for storm resiliency?

BY: Mary Alice Williams, NJTV News Anchor

All of New Jersey was slammed by Superstorm Sandy, but Hoboken took it on the chin. Two-thirds of the city lies in FEMA’s flood zone and most of the city’s water infrastructure dates back a century or more. The storm surge from the sea, combined with torrential rains from the sky, flooded the combined sewer system that overflowed into the harbor. It’s Hoboken that could be a national model of re-engineering in the face of climate change with a combination of hard and soft protections.

Jennifer Gonzales is city’s director of environmental services. The city has attached 10,000 gallon cisterns to collect rainwater. Water runs through pipes and goes into rain gardens that absorb the water before it can enter the sewer lines. Even the central plaza’s concrete pavers and gravel absorb water.

“So as we keep more rain water out of our combined sewer system, it reduces the likelihood of flooding, as well as the likelihood of combined sewer overflow events. So it protects water quality as well,” said Gonzales.

Hoboken has also turned parking lots into playgrounds with the same permeable pavers and planters that store stormwater. It’s set over a maze of pipes that flow into underground cisterns that keep water from seeping into sewers. Parks like this are being replicated all over town.

“The parks as defense strategy ties into the bigger project, Rebuild by Design project, which is a four-part water management strategy,” said Caleb Stratton, Hoboken’s chief resiliency officer.

The strategy: resist the water, delay its release, store it, and discharge when it can do the least damage.

“In total between partnerships and acquisitions, the city intends to spend about $140 million on different park acquisition and development projects that provide that delay and store part of the comprehensive strategy. And then the state of New Jersey and the federal government are contributing $230 million to the resist feature to reduce coastal storm surge,” said Stratton.

Hoboken’s Harborside Park on the Hudson River walkway provides a vivid reminder of the damage coastal storm surge can do — the masts of sunken sailboats sticking out of the water.

Alongside those sunken boats, the city is building up, creating a barrier as high as 16 feet to withstand the next storm surge. It’s a wall integrated into the landscape of parks and playgrounds that protects neighborhoods, rail yards, a hospital, and police and fire stations. Grass and plantings can absorb rainfall.

“You’re not going to look at it and say, ‘that’s a flood protection measure.’ So there’s the function which is to keep floodwater out, but then there’s the actual form, so can people play there, can you rest there, can you barbecue there, can you come and you can walk to the top of the feature and look at New York City? It is going to function as a park,” Stratton said.

And the walls built here in Hoboken will be extended to the cities of Weehawken to the north and Jersey City to the south to fend off the worst effects of climate change.

TRANSCRIPT

HERE'S A WAKE-UP CALL, STUDY BASED ON DATA FROM THE UNION OF

CONCERNED SCIENTISTS SHOWS NINE NEW JERSEY COMMITTEES WITH THE

GREATEST PERCENTAGE OF HOMES AT RISK OF CHRONIC FLOODING BY THE

YEAR 2060.

HOBOKEN RANKED SECOND IN THE NATION BEHIND ONLY MIAMI BEACH.

BUT HOBOKEN IS ON ITS WAY TO BEATING THE ODDS OF BEING

INUNDATED.

TO COINCIDE WITH AN ENCORE PRESENTATION OF THE NATIONAL PBS

SERIES THINKING SERIES, WE PRESENT PART FOUR OF THE SERIES

WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON SINCE LAST WINTER, AND HOW THE STATE OF NEW

JERSEY HAS TOP SCIENTISTS, ENGINEERS, URBAN PLANNERS AND

CITIZENS ARE ADDRESSING THE PERIL & PROMISE OF CLIMATE

CHANGE.

ALL NEW JERSEY WAS LED BY SUPER STORM SANDY BUT HOBOKEN TOOK IT

ON THE CHIN.

TWO THIRDS OF THE CITY LIES IN FEMA'S FLOOD ZONE.

MOST OF THE CITY'S WATER INFRASTRUCTURE DATES BACK A

CENTURY OR MORE, AND THE STORM SURGE FROM THE SEA COMBINED WITH

TORRENTIAL RAINS FROM THE SKY FLOODED THE COMBINED SEWER

SYSTEM IT'S HOBOKEN THAT COULD BE A NATIONAL MODEL OF

REENGINEERING IN THE FACE OF CLIMATE CHANGE.

WITH A COMBINATION OF BOTH HARD AND SOFT PROTECTIONS.

WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT RESILIENCY PROJECTS, WE DON'T THINK ABOUT

RETROFITTING ANCIENT BUILDINGS.

NO, THAT WE ACTUALLY DID RETROFIT PROJECT HERE AT CITY

HALL.

JENNIFER GONZALES IS THE DIRECTOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL

SERVICES FOR THE CITY, AND SHE TOOK US AROUND BACK TO SEE THE

10,000 GALLON CISTERNS THEY'VE ATTACHED TO COLLECT RAINWATER,

WHICH RUNS THROUGH THOSE SILVER PIPES, INTO RAIN GARDENS, WHICH

ABSORB WATER BEFORE IT CAN ENTER THE SEWER LINES.

EVEN THE CENTRAL PLAZA'S CONCRETE PAVERS AND GRAVEL

ABSORB WATER.

SO AS WE KEEP MORE RAINWATER OUT OF THE COMBINED SEWER SYSTEM,

REDUCES THE LIKELIHOOD OF FLOODING, AS WELL AS THE

LIKELIHOOD OF COMBINED SEWER OVERFLOW EVENTS.

HOBOKEN HAS ALSO TURNED PARKING LOTS INTO PLAYGROUNDS WITH THE

SAME PERMEABLE PAVERS AND PLANTERS THAT STORE STORM WATER.

SET OVER A WARREN OF PIPES FLOWING UNDER GROUND CISTERNS

THAT KEEP IT FROM FLOWING INTO SEWERS.

PARKS LIKE THIS ARE BEING REPLICATED ALL OVER TOWN.

THIS ENTIRE PARK IS ACTING LIKE A SPONGE.

IT IS PROVIDING OPEN SPACE.

PHILIP STRATTON IS HOBOKEN'S CHIEF RESILIENCY OFFICER.

THAT TIES INTO A BIGGER PROJECT THAT WE BUILT BY DESIGN WHICH IS

A FOUR-PART MANAGEMENT WATER STRATEGY.

THE FOUR-PART STRATEGY WILL RESIST THE WATER, DELAY ITS

RELEASE, STORE IT, DISCHARGE IT WHEN IT CAN DO THE LEAST DAMAGE.

IN TOTAL BETWEEN PARTNERSHIPS AND ACQUISITIONS, THE CITY

INTENDS TO SPEND ABOUT $140 MILLION ON DIFFERENT PARK

ACQUISITION AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS THAT PROVIDE THAT DELAY

AND STORE PART OF THE COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY.

AND THEN THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ARE

CONTRIBUTING $230 MILLION TO THE RESIST FEATURE TO RESIST COASTAL

STORM SURGE.

HOBOKEN'S RIVERSIDE PARK CONTAINS A VIVID REMINDER OF THE

DAMAGE COASTAL STORMS SURGE CAN DO.

ARE THOSE ACTUALLY BOATS STILL SUNK AFTER SANDY?

YES THEY ARE.

WE HAVE A DIFFICULT TIME PULLING THEM OUT.

ALONGSIDE THE SUNKEN SABBATH, THE CITY IS BUILDING UP,

CREATING A BARRIER AS HIGH AS 16 FEET TO WITHSTAND THE NEXT STORM

SURGE.

A WALL THAT PROTECTS NEIGHBORHOODS, RAIL YARDS,

HOSPITAL AND POLICE AND FIRE STATIONS.

A WALL INTEGRATED INTO A LANDSCAPE OF PARKS AND

PLAYGROUNDS WITH GRASS AND PLANTINGS THAT CAN ABSORB

RAINFALL.

YOU ARE NOT GOING TO LOOK AT IT AND SAY THAT THE FLOOD

PROTECTION MEASURE.

SO THERE'S THE FUNCTION TO KEEP FLOODWATER OUT, AND THEN THERE

IS THE ACTUAL FORM, SO CAN PEOPLE PLAY THERE, CAN YOU REST

THERE, CAN YOU COME AND WALK TO THE TOP OF THE FEATURE AND LOOK

AT NEW YORK CITY.

IT IS GOING TO FUNCTION AS A PARK.

THE WALLS BUILT HERE WILL BE EXTENDED TO THE CITIES OF

WEEHAWKEN TO THE NORTH AND JERSEY CITY TO THE SOUTH, TO

FEND OFF THE WORST EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE.

AT 9:00 TONIGHT, AN ENCORE PRESENTATION OF THE PBS SERIES

THINKING CITIES LOOKS AT HOW MIAMI IS ADAPTING TO THE REALITY

OF CLIMATE CHANGE.

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