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 in turn increased local flooding, and 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 events, during which stormwater and wastewater flow untreated into local waterways.
This project aims 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 systems. Researchers intend to examine the spatial relationship between these historical water bodies and both local flood vulnerability and combined sewer overflow locations. The dataset produced by this project can then be used to inform policy initiatives which aim to reduce local flood vulnerability as well as inform the development out of flood-prone areas in the state.