This presentation was prepared for Troop 146 of the Boy Scouts of America. Carter Craft, local resident and water planning expert, delivered the presentation on 29 January 2019.
1. Superstorm Sandy - October 29, 2012
What Have We learned? What Can we Do?Carter Craft/ Outside New York @cartercraft or
http://outsidenewyork.wordpress.com
2. Sandy was a very, very, very very
very BIG flood.
how do floods
happen?
Carter Craft/ Outside New York @cartercraft or
http://outsidenewyork.wordpress.com
3. How do floods happen?
• Rainfall
• Storm Surge
• Inadequate drainage
• Sea level rise
• Lunar cycle
• Land subsidence
• Climate change
Carter Craft/ Outside New York @cartercraft or
http://outsidenewyork.wordpress.com
4. How the water flooded in…
• https://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2016/07/how_much_flood_pr
otection_would_hoboken_plans_offe.html
Carter Craft/ Outside New York @cartercraft or
http://outsidenewyork.wordpress.com
5. HIGH TIDE Today
28 January 2019
• Casablanca, Morocco 957pm tonight
• Sandy Hook, NJ 248pm today
1. Natural Forces
such as the pull of Gravity between Earth, Sun and Moon
Carter Craft/ Outside New York @cartercraft or
http://outsidenewyork.wordpress.com
7. 2. Hoboken’s old
“Combined” Sewer System
Sanitary pipes connect household toilets to the
Wastewater Treatment Plant
Unsanitary pipes connect our rain- and street-drains to
the treatment plant.
Where buildings connect to a single sewer line under the
street both of these types pipes are connected together.
That is called a “combined” sewer system
When it rains heavily there is too much water for the
treatment plant to handle all at once, so the sewage and
rainwater gets discharged directly to the river.
Sometimes it backs up in the streets and basements too
Carter Craft/ Outside New York @cartercraft or
http://outsidenewyork.wordpress.com
8. 3. Topography: the City is quite flat
When there is a lot of water it moves across the land and through the sewer system slowly
Carter Craft/ Outside New York @cartercraft or
http://outsidenewyork.wordpress.com
9. 4. Geography: the City is mostly paved and impervious
In most areas there is no way for the water to sink into the soil. Concrete and asphalt
surfaces thus catch the rain and funnel it into the sewer system
Carter Craft/ Outside New York @cartercraft or
http://outsidenewyork.wordpress.com
10. 5. The Hudson River is in our front yard
• Extends over 300 miles
north
• Drains parts of many
states: NY, NJ, CT, VT, PA
• 14,000 square miles
• Sometimes it runs into
the incoming High Tide,
leading to a higher water
level
Carter Craft/ Outside New York @cartercraft or
http://outsidenewyork.wordpress.com
11. What are the effects of
flooding?
• Living areas become uninhabitable
• Loss of electricity
• No heat
• (potentially) no water
• Stores and businesses closed
• Can’t get information
• Deliveries are interrupted (food, fuel, medicine, etc
• Health effects: Mold, Germs, Pollution
• Effects can “Cascade”
Carter Craft/ Outside New York @cartercraft or
http://outsidenewyork.wordpress.com
12. Getting around becomes difficult for some
and impossible for others
Carter Craft/ Outside New York @cartercraft or
http://outsidenewyork.wordpress.com
13. A&P Grocery Store Could Not Receive Deliveries
Hoboken, NJ 31 October 2012 (2 days after the storm)
Carter Craft/ Outside New York @cartercraft or
http://outsidenewyork.wordpress.com
14. Communications are interrupted
This was the communications “system” at one of the Evacuation Shelters in
Hoboken, October 31, 2012
Carter Craft/ Outside New York @cartercraft or
http://outsidenewyork.wordpress.com
15. The Cleanup After the Flood Is Unhealthy
Many people’s lives are thrown out on the street. Much of these belongings came out of basements,
where they were soaked by surge Water’s from Sandy. This water was mostly ocean water, but also
mixed with sewage, heating oil, paint, chemicals and other pollutants.
Carter Craft/ Outside New York @cartercraft or
http://outsidenewyork.wordpress.com
16. The cleanup goes
on for many months
It takes a lot of time and money.
To stop mold from growing inside
a building is complicated. To
repair infrastructure that was
just filled up with salt water.
It takes even more time and
money to take the protective
steps needed to keep the
damage from happening again…
Carter Craft/ Outside New York @cartercraft or
http://outsidenewyork.wordpress.com
17. Given the Hazards What Can We Do to Be
Better Prepared?
• The tides rise and fall
• The Hudson River isn’t
going anywhere
• Sea Level has risen more
than 1 foot in the past
100 yrs
• The land is sinking in
some areas
• Most people don’t pay
attention to the
weather… until its too
late.
Carter Craft/ Outside New York @cartercraft or
http://outsidenewyork.wordpress.com
18. So What Can We Do to
Be Better Prepared?
• Make a Plan
• Move things out of the flood zone
• Learn how to “Shelter in place”
• Stock up on Food, Water, Batteries
• Talk with our families and our neighbors
• Work with our neighbors and government to take larger protective
measures for our homes, our buildings, and communityCarter Craft/ Outside New York @cartercraft or
http://outsidenewyork.wordpress.com
19. “Rebuild By Design”
an international competiton that helped created new models for collaboration
following the flood
Carter Craft/ Outside New York @cartercraft or
http://outsidenewyork.wordpress.com
20. Working together in Hoboken in large and small groups
• Understand the
problems
• Identify solutions
• Figure out which
one(s) work best
Carter Craft/ Outside New York @cartercraft or
http://outsidenewyork.wordpress.com
21. The expert team Developed a Four-part strategy
The Hoboken plan was developed by OMA with Royal HaskoningDHV; Balmori
Associates; and HR&A AdvisorsCarter Craft/ Outside New York @cartercraft or
http://outsidenewyork.wordpress.com
23. From the initial
Competition to
Implementation the team
changed a bit.
Engineering became the
leader of the planning +
design team through an
existing agreement they
had with NJ Transit
Carter Craft/ Outside New York @cartercraft or
http://outsidenewyork.wordpress.com
24. In summer
2017
took over the
project.
They serve now
as the lead
consultant to
the State of NJ
who are
responsible for
the project
Carter Craft/ Outside New York @cartercraft or
http://outsidenewyork.wordpress.com
25. Ultimately it’s a matter of
figuring out how to carve
allocate the space.
Is there a way to provide
better flood protection
while creating other
benefits for residents in
terms of public space,
streetscape, better utility
services, and other
activities/ facilities that can
benefit the community as a
whole?
Which activities are
competing and which are
complementary?
Carter Craft/ Outside New York @cartercraft or
http://outsidenewyork.wordpress.com
26. Your voice
matters!
After this system gets built
all of us will be
responsible to pay for it’s
operations and
maintenance.
Come to the next meeting
and share your ideas!
Carter Craft/ Outside New York @cartercraft or
http://outsidenewyork.wordpress.com
27. Thank You!
October 28, 2018
Carter Craft/ Outside New York @cartercraft or
http://outsidenewyork.wordpress.com
28. Rebuild by Design
• Animation of the Storm – one week out to 30 October https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhQktHY9aZg
• Video of incoming Sandy flood and alternatives shown in Model
https://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2016/07/how_much_flood_protection_would_hoboken_plans_offe.html
• Rebuild By Design “flyover” https://youtu.be/-JJGpmDdTT4
• Resist Delay Store Discharge strategy/ Cooper Hewitt Museum
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q73R1cJjL7s
• New Jersey Future Short video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uyhb_R1BjYY
Carter Craft/ Outside New York @cartercraft or
http://outsidenewyork.wordpress.com