ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -
Atlantic City locals said they were surprised to see the amount of flooding in the streets over the weekend, even with the reconstruction of the Baltic Avenue Canal and pump system.
“We saw a lot of flooding on the streets Friday night, Saturday and Sunday in particular. A lot of water on the street especially on the street just behind us, on Massachusetts Avenue," said Atlantic City Cruises owner Jeff George.
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City officials said that they successfully utilized the pump Monday morning, September 10th, for the first time, but even with that, locals were still questioning why they had to battle flooded streets over the weekend.
“The reason of building this was to eliminate the situations we had yesterday," said Atlantic City resident Mark Wickline. "To make these people be free to drive around and get out of here to go to work, to go to the grocery store, to take their kids to school, or whatever it may be.”
This wasn’t the case for Wickline. He explained he was even late to work due to streets being severely flooded.
As of right now, the expectation of completely eliminating water in the streets using the new system is unlikely. Officials said there is still going to be occasional flooding in certain low areas and residents need to prepare themselves.
“We’ve seen a reduction in flood waters," said Atlantic City Fire Chief Scott Evans. "One thing is, we’re not going to be able to stop the water from coming in. There are still low spots in Atlantic City such as New Hampshire Avenue, Caspian Avenue. We have areas in the city were the bulkhead is deteriorating. So it doesn’t take much for the bay to meet the streets.”
Evans further explained that as the infrastructure in the city continues to improve, it will further reduce flooding issues.
When the pumps were put into action Monday morning after a weekend of rain, Atlantic City’s Director of Public Works Paul Jerkins said within about 15 to 20 minutes of the system being activated, the streets were completely dry.
“This type of system is just wonderful for Atlantic City," said Jerkins. "I believe that as we continue with the addition pumps that are planned to come into the city, it’s going to mitigate that problem greatly and you’ll find that people in high water tide situations will be able to traverse the city without any difficulties."
With more rain on the way and the risk of flooding in South Jersey increasing, city officials said they are preparing to utilize all resources to make sure their residents are safe.
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