MANVILLE, NJ–A little more than one year after the third significant flooding event in the past 12 years occurred in the towns of Manville and Bound Brook, the former of the two Somerset County communities has decided to put together a flood steering committee. According to a report filed in today’s Sunday Star-Ledger, Manville’s current mayor, Lillian Zuza, is planning to set up this steering committee to help “lobby for funding to ensure that relief efforts actually happen.”

Manville, which has been devastated by recent floods from Hurricane Floyd back in September 1999, and a mid-Spring Nor’easter that occurred last year, is responding to the lack of progress made by the federal government’s Army Corps of Engineers on the current Green Brook Flood Zone Project, which began in the early 70s, but is still yet to be completed. Most notably, among the areas that have yet to be completed are those that are supposed to protect Manville and Bound Brook from the advance of flood waters from the Raritan River, which runs from Raritan Bay near Perth Amboy, through New Brunswick, and into Somerset County.

Last year, local officials from the town of Bound Brook went to Washington to make a plea for increased funding for the multi-decade project. Congressman Mike Ferguson of the 7th District here in New Jersey joined up with others in Congress to convince President Bush to allocate another $10 million toward funding of the project. However, more money is needed. A similar situation has occurred in New Orleans with respect to the levee system, which is still not fortified enough to help the city withstand another major hurricane along the lines of Hurricane Katrina. As a matter of fact, a recent Hurricaneville blog entry pointed out that a local television station in the Crescent City was informed by a resident that floodwall barriers were being stuffed with newspaper rather than rubber to fortify them.

Residents and town officials are determined to do anything to prevent anything like the flooding from Floyd, or last year’s Nor’easter doesn’t happen again. They all realize that they need to be more involved in the democratic process in order to get what they need to protect their community. According to the Star-Ledger article, Mayor Zuza said, “We need to be more involved.” The mayor is looking to have another four to six members join the panel. If you are interested in being a part of this committee, please send in your resume by May 30th to the following:

Manville Borough Hall
325 N. Main Street
Manville, New Jersey 08835