Strategies for Flood Risk Reduction for Vulnerable Coastal Populations along Arthur Kill at Elizabeth, Linden, Rahway, Carteret and Woodbridge FINAL REPORT Submitted to New Jersey Governor’s Office of Recovery and Rebuilding and New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection By Qizhong (George) Guo1, Principal Investigator Bertrand Byrne1, Jie Gong1, Raghav Krishnamoorthy1 Henry Mayer2 1School of Engineering, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering 2The Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Environmental Analysis & Communications Group Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey August 2014 Arthur Kill Study Area Cover Photo Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jag9889/5885591353/ Table of Contents I. Executive Summaries ............................................................................................................................ 1 A. Flood Study Overview ...................................................................................................................... 1 B. Arthur Kill Regional Flood Study ..................................................................................................... 2 C. City of Elizabeth Flood Study ........................................................................................................... 3 D. City of Linden ................................................................................................................................... 4 E. City of Rahway ................................................................................................................................. 5 F. Borough of Carteret .......................................................................................................................... 6 G. Woodbridge Township ...................................................................................................................... 7 II. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 8 A. Hurricane Sandy .............................................................................................................................. 10 B. Flooding Study Approach ............................................................................................................... 16 1. Procedure .................................................................................................................................... 16 2. FEMA FIRM Map ...................................................................................................................... 17 3. Flood Threat Levels .................................................................................................................... 17 4. Historical Rainfall Data .............................................................................................................. 18 C. Flood Mitigation Strategies and Measures ...................................................................................... 19 III. Arthur Kill Region .............................................................................................................................. 23 A. Regional Flooding Issues Overview ............................................................................................... 23 B. Regional Flood Mitigation .............................................................................................................. 27 1. Mitigating 100 Year Coastal Storm Event .................................................................................. 27 2. Mitigating Stormwater-related flooding ..................................................................................... 29 i C. Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................... 32 IV. City of Elizabeth ................................................................................................................................. 33 A. Background ..................................................................................................................................... 33 B. Flood Threat Assessment ................................................................................................................ 35 1. Flood Threat Overview ............................................................................................................... 35 2. Coastal Storm Vulnerability........................................................................................................ 35 3. Stormwater Runoff Vulnerability ............................................................................................... 36 C. Flood Mitigation ............................................................................................................................. 39 1. Coastal Storm Flooding Mitigation ............................................................................................. 39 2. Flood Mitigation Projects proposed by Rutgers University Team .............................................. 45 3. Stormwater-related flooding Mitigation ..................................................................................... 47 4. Green Infrastructure Measures .................................................................................................... 48 D. Flood Mitigation Cost ..................................................................................................................... 49 E. Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................... 50 V. City of Linden ..................................................................................................................................... 51 A. Background ..................................................................................................................................... 51 B. Flood Threat Assessment ................................................................................................................ 52 1. Flood Threat Overview ............................................................................................................... 52 2. Coastal Storm Vulnerability........................................................................................................ 62 3. Stormwater Runoff Vulnerability ............................................................................................... 63 C. Flood Mitigation ............................................................................................................................. 64 1. Flood Mitigation Projects proposed by Rutgers University Team .............................................. 64 ii 2. Stormwater-related flooding Mitigation ..................................................................................... 65 3. Green Infrastructure Measures .................................................................................................... 68 D. Flood Mitigation Cost ..................................................................................................................... 69 1. 100 Year Coastal Storm Flood Mitigation .................................................................................. 69 2. Stormwater-Related Flood Mitigation ........................................................................................ 69 E. Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................... 70 VI. City of Rahway ................................................................................................................................... 71 A. Background ..................................................................................................................................... 71 B. Flood Threat Assessment ................................................................................................................ 72 1. Flood Threat Overview ............................................................................................................... 72 2. Coastal Storm Vulnerability........................................................................................................ 73 3. Stormwater Runoff Vulnerability ............................................................................................... 73 C. Flood Mitigation ............................................................................................................................. 75 1. Flood Mitigation Projects proposed by Rutgers University Team .............................................. 75 2. Stormwater-related flooding Mitigation ..................................................................................... 75 3. Green Infrastructure Measures .................................................................................................... 75 D. Flood Mitigation Cost ..................................................................................................................... 77 1. 100 Year Coastal Storm Flood Mitigation .................................................................................. 77 2. Stormwater-Related Flood Mitigation ........................................................................................ 77 E. Conclusion .....................................................................................................................................