West Brook Hills I,
which was approved in 1986, has been under construction for some time
now. Typically, a development of this nature on steeply sloped areas
would have measures in place to manage runoff during and after
construction. These measures include silt fencing, hay bales over
storm drains, gravel over dirt driveways, and detention basins to
capture stormwater and recharge it back into the ground, instead of
having it run unchecked into storm drains. When CLEAN first visited the
site in January of 2003, there were no stormwater management controls
in place. After several complaints to Hudson Essex Passaic Soil
Conservation District, the developer put hay bales over the storm
drains. But the lack of detention basins elsewhere on site let the
water run into the road, flooding it in several areas. The developer's
response to this problem was to pull the hay bales off of the storm
drains during heavy rains, allowing silted water to run directly into
local streams. Now he is before the planning board with another 39-home
development. Can we be assured that this developer's second storm water
system will protect our drinking water supply better than his current
one?
 Silt running down open driveway, 2-03 |
 More muddy runoff 2-03 |
 Flooding Crescent Road 6-03
|
 An open storm drain collecting muddy water 6-03 |
 Hay bales removed 8-03 |
 More mud for the stream 8-03 |