Just thought I'd bump this headline as it is likely an accurate prediction of tomorrow.

BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES AND MAN THE PUMPS!!!

Quote:

Then join JCSOS (save our sewers), http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JCSOS/, a group formed last year to confront the MUA and draw attention to the inadequacy and decrepit state of JC's sewer system.

We have recently formed our executive committee and will soon have a website up. This is a long term fight against entrenched government indifference.

One of the goals of JCSOS is to unite all the neighborhoods of JC that have flooding, not just downtown. If anyone reading this has flooding their non-downtown neighborhood, please join JCSOS and let us know where you are. Lets flip their "divide and conquer" on it's head and "unite and get it fixed".

On the morning of August 9th, 2007 my new Honda civic was flooded on Wayne Street. The sewer water entered the interior of the car up to the steering wheel and left a terrible odor and unseen electrical problems. When the waters finally receded by the end of the day, a dead water drenched rat was left on the ground in front of my vehicle (A bad omen of sorts...).

I called the police to file a police report, but they said they couldn't do anything about it, claiming the incident was an "Act of God". As far as I could see, it was JC's faulty sewers that weren't draining properly (If you walked 2 blocks in either direction the flooding wasn't nearly as bad).

Eventually the car insurance company deemed my vehicle a total loss and I was compensated for only the book value of my car, which of course was less than the amount I had left to pay on my car loan. Months of aggravated phone calls later, I ended up paying 89 bucks that the gap insurance company failed to pay (I was so completely through arguing with these people).

Lucky for me a family member loaned me a spare vehicle, which allowed me to get to work on a daily basis while I saved for a new, much less expensive used car. I keep track of the weather and park 2 blocks away when heavy rains come our way.

Something's really wrong with this picture.
I certainly don't want anyone else to go through what I went though -

RAIN, SEWERS FLOOD HUDSON
Accidents, raw seweage on roadways

Thursday, February 14, 2008
By PAUL KOEPP
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

A nasty winter storm snarled traffic and caused accidents across Hudson County over the past two days, as sleet and snow gave way to 2 inches of rain.

In Jersey City, 168 accidents and 18 disabled vehicles were reported from 7 a.m. Tuesday to 7 a.m. yesterday, the majority occurring Tuesday afternoon, police said.

Yesterday flooding occurred around Wayne Street and Marin Boulevard, and Route 440 below the Pulaski Skyway filled with about 8 inches of water, said Richard Haytas, of the Jersey City Municipal Utilities Authority. Police said Columbus Drive was closed by flooding in the afternoon.

Hoboken's familiar flooding problems brought water at least 2 feet deep and the stench of sewage to the Sky Club and Harrison Street. Other flooded spots included Ninth and Madison streets, Newark and Park, Second and Monroe and Fourth and Jackson, as sewers overflowed from heavy rain all day.

Fourth Ward Councilwoman Dawn Zimmer said she was setting up a meeting next week with Mayor David Roberts and Fred Pocci, head of the North Hudson Sewerage Authority, to discuss a "smart" system to relieve sewage backups.

The system would use wireless sensors to predict when flooding will occur, opening and closing gates to better manage the flow of sewage. Zimmer said that while it might not eliminate all flooding, the city should explore any way to address the issue.

"It's a major problem. We need to resolve this," she said. "We've got raw sewage on the streets when this happens. It's disgusting."

There were at least 15 fender-benders Tuesday afternoon in Bayonne, although no serious injuries were reported, according to the city's emergency service provider, Mickey McCabe, of McCabe Ambulance.

About a half-dozen minor accidents were reported in Secaucus, and police said the Route 3 East service road could become flooded if the rain continued.

State Police responded to more than 400 reported accidents, mostly spinouts or minor collisions, in the northern third of the state, Sgt. Stephen Jones said, with most problems between 4 and 5 p.m. Tuesday and from 6 to 7 a.m. yesterday. He said no roads were closed as of yesterday afternoon.

Staff writer Carly Baldwin contributed to this report.