On October 9, 2015, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (“FEMA”) revealed its award of approximately $66 million to the Middlesex County Utilities Authority for the construction of flood walls and related infrastructure to protect their Sayreville wastewater pump station ($55 million) and Edison wastewater pump station ($10.6 million) from flooding and major storms.
Due to Superstorm Sandy’s storm surge, MCUA’s Sayreville and Edison wastewater pump stations suffered significant system failure, resulting in untreated water being discharged into the Raritan River and Raritan Bay.
The NJDEP, the New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure Trust (“NJEIT”), MCUA and various other entities have been working closely together in order to minimize the future occurrence of the impacts and disruptions experienced as a result of Superstorm Sandy.
The proposed perimeter of the Sayreville flood wall is 1,700 feet long with a height ranging from five feet to 14 feet above grade, while the proposed flood wall system for the Edison pump station is 65 feet long with a height of 23 feet above sea level.
The NJEIT and NJDEP will cover costs not met by the FEMA grants.
For more information, please visit www.nj.gov/dep or www.njeit.org.
