To the Editor:

Throughout the past year many residents of Princeton have contacted The Watershed Institute for help addressing flooding in and around their homes. Because of changes in precipitation patterns due to climate change and continuing development pressure, flooding in Princeton is getting worse. Our water quality has suffered as well. Beloved water bodies in open spaces including Mountain Lake and the pond in Smoyer Park were covered with duckweed this summer, a sign of an excess of nutrients in the water, and a harmful algal bloom was identified in Rosedale Lake near Pennington.

We can address our flooding issues and protect and improve water quality by using plants and soil to capture and clean the polluted stormwater runoff that is causing these flooding and water quality issues. The state recently amended its stormwater regulations to require the use of these strategies, which are known as “green infrastructure.” We applaud Princeton Council for introducing a new stormwater management ordinance on November 9 that goes beyond the state’s basic requirements. This new ordinance builds on enhancements made in 2017 by the Council and incorporates additional protections that would be among the strongest in the state. As a result, we will see many more rain gardens and green roofs in town. Using green infrastructure provides many well-documented benefits including reduced temperatures in areas with high concentrations of blacktop and other impervious surfaces, habitat for birds and pollinators, improvement in property values, and positive impacts on mental health.

We’ll also be advocating for the town to take the next step, which will be to require stormwater management for redevelopment. Much of Princeton was developed before requirements existed to manage stormwater. When old buildings are replaced through redevelopment, we should take the opportunity to incorporate measures that can reduce the flooding that many town residents experience whenever there is a heavy rain.

We hope that you will join us in supporting this important ordinance at the public hearing to be held virtually on Monday, December 7. Comments on the ordinance can be sent to princetoncomments@gmail.com no later than 6:30 p.m. on December 7. If you and your neighborhood are experiencing problems with flooding and you’d like to learn more about ways to address it with green infrastructure, please visit thewatershed.org to learn more about our River-Friendly resident program.

Jim Waltman
Executive Director, The Watershed Institute