Nuisance Flooding Studies

Researchers at the CRC will investigate the physical parameters that initiate nuisance flooding in several towns in New Jersey. Nuisance flooding is defined as water intrusion below the typical level for notice by major media or the US Weather service warnings. The study aims to identify the causes of nuisance flooding, quantify the events in terms of flooding levels and problem areas, and determine the overall impacts that nuisance flooding events have on communities in New Jersey. Flood data will be collected by deploying Onset HOBO U20L water level loggers in various locations throughout the towns. Time series of water levels will be collected and analyzed to isolate nuisance flooding events. These events will then be analyzed and used to determine the effects that nuisance flooding has on the towns. Once sufficient data has been collected, the CRC hopes to work with the communities to develop a citizen early warning system in order to reduce property loss.

The first studies to be funded are taking place in the borough of Avalon in Cape May County, NJ and in the borough of Longport in Atlantic County, NJ. The funding is being channeled through the Atlantic Cape New Jersey Coastal Coalition (ACNJCC) in cooperation with the respective towns. Fourteen total sites were selected in Avalon (with two of these sites measuring tidal fluctuations in the bay) and eight total sites were selected in Longport (with one of these sites measuring tidal fluctuations in the bay). Tidal fluctuations are measured so that researchers can isolate nuisance flooding caused by rain and nuisance flooding caused by increased tidal levels due to coastal storms. Instruments deployed to measure nuisance flooding in the streets were affixed to the underside of storm drains and instruments deployed to measure tidal fluctuations were affixed to bulkheads. Data will be collected over the course of an entire year and data analysis will be ongoing until the project is complete.