January 11, 2023
The Race to Address Flooding in Princeton: Partnering with the Municipality, the University, and the Watershed Institute
James Waltman and Sophie Glovier
Executive Director and Chief of Operations, The Watershed Institute
Minutes of the 14th Meeting of the 81st Year
President John Cotton called the meeting to order at 10:15 am. Richard Trenner read the minutes of the December 7, 2022, meeting.
Richard Trenner introduced our speakers: Jim Waltman, Executive Director, the Watershed Institute, and Sophie Glovier, Chief of Operations, the Watershed Institute.
Jim Waltman and Sophie Glovier brought 108 Old Guard members up to date on what the Watershed Institute (formerly Stony Brook Millstone Watershed Association) has done and is doing in its primary mission of keeping our water clean. The Watershed Institute was started with the pioneering work and resources of David McAlpin, Kathleen Peyton, and Muriel Buttinger. Jim Waltman has been Executive Director of the Watershed Institute since 2005; Sophie Glovier has worked for many years with our town leaders to help inform them of the evolving sciences of storm water management and of keeping our water clean; she is now Chief of Operations at the Watershed Institute.
Jim began by giving a primer on the growth and development of the Watershed Institute. He defined a watershed; and he described the range of activities that have expanded to include neighboring watersheds. The jewel in the crown of the Institute is their new LEED-platinum Watershed Center for Environmental Advocacy, Science, and Education. A recent advocacy success was stopping construction for the Penn East gas pipeline.
We are fortunate indeed to have the Watershed Institute in our area. It has harnessed the resources of Princeton University and the municipal governments to bring science to the state lawmakers to help draft new laws for storm water management and for water quality.
The Watershed Institute is now involved in helping the NJ Department of Environmental Protection plan the permitting for development that is based on future rainfall and flooding patterns due to climate change, rather than depend on now outdated data.
Two recent mega storms were wakeup calls to do more about managing runoff: hurricanes Sandy in 2012 and Ida in 2021. The intensity of these storms was enhanced by climate change, which has led to warmer ocean water and the consequent increase of moisture in the atmosphere over the oceans. In the northeast USA there has been a 55% increase in downpours during storms. Yet summers are becoming warmer and drier. The combination of the increase in intensity of storms and the increase of impervious surfaces due to development are on a collision course for producing disasters downstream. For example, the downpours from hurricane Ida resulted in major damage at Manville, NJ, which is where the Millstone River flows into the Raritan River.
Forests and open space help mitigate the quality of water and slow the rate of runoff. The Watershed Institute has helped preserve ecologically sensitive and pristine forests such as the recently preserved 153 acres in northwestern Princeton. The Institute is currently partnering with other groups to protect more open space in the Princeton and surrounding areas.
The Institute monitors water pollution. A looming problem is the effect of warmer water and of lower stream flow that leads to algal blooms. Diminished summer rainfall and increase of impervious surfaces contribute to this problem.
During the closures due to Covid, Princeton University students were mobilized remotely to make a drainage pipe map of Princeton. This included streams that had been covered over by development, such as parts of Harry’s Brook which is one of the fastest-to-flood brooks in urban areas of USA. Spring Street is named for the spring that is now where the Municipal Parking Garage was built. The basement of the garage quickly filled with water during construction. It was then said, “the spring has sprung!”
Jim Waltman is connected, in at least one special way with our speakers of January 18, 2023, Rosemary and Peter Grant. He was their assistant in the Galapagos when he was an undergraduate at Princeton!
Jim and Sophie invited us to visit the beautiful Watershed Institute Center which is only eight miles west of Princeton. It is on a 950-acre preserve with 10 miles of hiking trails and many educational exhibits and programs. A new 0.6-mile boardwalk will be completed this spring, making a visit even more user friendly than it already is.
The speakers also called our attention to the current project to update Princeton’s 10-year master plan. This is where to register our concerns about planning for development in response to climate change. For example, should we build affordable housing in the areas most prone to flooding? Should we commit to preserve more open space?
Respectively submitted
Lincoln S. Hollister
Richard Trenner introduced our speakers: Jim Waltman, Executive Director, the Watershed Institute, and Sophie Glovier, Chief of Operations, the Watershed Institute.
Jim Waltman and Sophie Glovier brought 108 Old Guard members up to date on what the Watershed Institute (formerly Stony Brook Millstone Watershed Association) has done and is doing in its primary mission of keeping our water clean. The Watershed Institute was started with the pioneering work and resources of David McAlpin, Kathleen Peyton, and Muriel Buttinger. Jim Waltman has been Executive Director of the Watershed Institute since 2005; Sophie Glovier has worked for many years with our town leaders to help inform them of the evolving sciences of storm water management and of keeping our water clean; she is now Chief of Operations at the Watershed Institute.
Jim began by giving a primer on the growth and development of the Watershed Institute. He defined a watershed; and he described the range of activities that have expanded to include neighboring watersheds. The jewel in the crown of the Institute is their new LEED-platinum Watershed Center for Environmental Advocacy, Science, and Education. A recent advocacy success was stopping construction for the Penn East gas pipeline.
We are fortunate indeed to have the Watershed Institute in our area. It has harnessed the resources of Princeton University and the municipal governments to bring science to the state lawmakers to help draft new laws for storm water management and for water quality.
The Watershed Institute is now involved in helping the NJ Department of Environmental Protection plan the permitting for development that is based on future rainfall and flooding patterns due to climate change, rather than depend on now outdated data.
Two recent mega storms were wakeup calls to do more about managing runoff: hurricanes Sandy in 2012 and Ida in 2021. The intensity of these storms was enhanced by climate change, which has led to warmer ocean water and the consequent increase of moisture in the atmosphere over the oceans. In the northeast USA there has been a 55% increase in downpours during storms. Yet summers are becoming warmer and drier. The combination of the increase in intensity of storms and the increase of impervious surfaces due to development are on a collision course for producing disasters downstream. For example, the downpours from hurricane Ida resulted in major damage at Manville, NJ, which is where the Millstone River flows into the Raritan River.
Forests and open space help mitigate the quality of water and slow the rate of runoff. The Watershed Institute has helped preserve ecologically sensitive and pristine forests such as the recently preserved 153 acres in northwestern Princeton. The Institute is currently partnering with other groups to protect more open space in the Princeton and surrounding areas.
The Institute monitors water pollution. A looming problem is the effect of warmer water and of lower stream flow that leads to algal blooms. Diminished summer rainfall and increase of impervious surfaces contribute to this problem.
During the closures due to Covid, Princeton University students were mobilized remotely to make a drainage pipe map of Princeton. This included streams that had been covered over by development, such as parts of Harry’s Brook which is one of the fastest-to-flood brooks in urban areas of USA. Spring Street is named for the spring that is now where the Municipal Parking Garage was built. The basement of the garage quickly filled with water during construction. It was then said, “the spring has sprung!”
Jim Waltman is connected, in at least one special way with our speakers of January 18, 2023, Rosemary and Peter Grant. He was their assistant in the Galapagos when he was an undergraduate at Princeton!
Jim and Sophie invited us to visit the beautiful Watershed Institute Center which is only eight miles west of Princeton. It is on a 950-acre preserve with 10 miles of hiking trails and many educational exhibits and programs. A new 0.6-mile boardwalk will be completed this spring, making a visit even more user friendly than it already is.
The speakers also called our attention to the current project to update Princeton’s 10-year master plan. This is where to register our concerns about planning for development in response to climate change. For example, should we build affordable housing in the areas most prone to flooding? Should we commit to preserve more open space?
Respectively submitted
Lincoln S. Hollister