As urban areas have developed in New Jersey, some water bodies such as ponds, streams, and wetlands have been filled in, developed over, or rerouted through stormwater systems. In some cases, this process may have increased local flooding. In addition, rerouting surface water into stormwater systems has increased the amount of water flowing through these systems. During heavy precipitation events, this may increase the likelihood of combined sewer overflow (CSO) events, during which stormwater and wastewater flow untreated into local waterways. In some cases, returning these altered water bodies to their previous state may help reduce local flood vulnerability and CSO events (Morrison, 2023).
The purpose of this project is to identify and create a dataset of historical water bodies in New Jersey that have been altered by human development, with a focus on areas with a history of flooding and areas with combined sewer overflow (CSO) systems and explore the spatial relationship between these historical water bodies and both local flood vulnerability and CSO locations.
The first objective of this project is to identify historical water bodies in New Jersey that have been altered by human development. This will be accomplished first by georeferencing historical maps using ArcGIS Pro and second by comparing these georeferenced historical maps to current maps.
The second objective is to identify areas with a history of flooding and areas with combined sewer overflow (CSO) systems. Areas with a history of flooding will be identified using historical records, including news reports. In addition, a blue spot/cloudburst analysis will be conducted using ArcGIS Pro to identify areas likely to flood during heavy precipitation events. CSO locations will be identified using the Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) for New Jersey dataset, produced by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (2023).
The third objective of this project is to analyze the spatial relationship between historical water bodies altered by human development and both areas with a history of flooding and areas with CSOs.
The dataset produced by this project may be used to inform policy initiatives aiming to reduce combined sewer overflow events and local flood vulnerability through nature-based solutions in New Jersey as well as policies aiming to prevent development in or relocate development out of flood-prone areas in the state.
References:
Bureau of GIS, NJ Department of Environmental Protection (2023). Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) for New Jersey. https://njogis-newjersey.opendata.arcgis.com/datasets/25bace29e8114519b2d08d04c75873f3_0/about .
Morrison, J. (2023, March 15). How ‘Daylighting’ Buried Waterways Is Revitalizing Cities Across America: Urban centers are exhuming creeks and streams once covered up to control floodwater—and bringing life back in the process. Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/how-daylighting-buried-waterways-is-revitalizing-cities-across-america-180981793/