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Preserving the Legacy of 2000-2003
Flood Control
On January 30, 2003, the US Army Corps of Engineers and the NJ Department of Environmental Protection made a presentation to the community about flood control in the downtown Stirling area.  This page summarizes the presentation.

The tentative plan is to build a wall/levee/berm for about 4000 feet to protect the lowest part of Valley Road.  The wall would start near Lounsberry Meadow, run behind the existing houses on Valley Road, cross South Main Street, then run behind the businesses on Valley Road and Shoprite Plaza.  It would end near Poplar Drive and Magnolia.

The USACE version of this map can be found at the bottom of this page.

This plan is tentative.  Here are a few more details of general interest.

  • The levee would have a maximum height of 5 feet, depending on the terrain.
  • South Main and Warren Avenues would cross the levee on raised ramps.
  • Properties south of the levee will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
  • The levee may be constructed of earth fill and/or a wall.  The exposed faces will be screened by decorative fencing where appropriate.
The purpose of the levee is to prevent the waters of the Passaic River from backing up the creeks that flow through downtown Stirling.  When this flooding occurs, it is generally one or two days after a heavy rain.  The strategy is to install "closure structures" (flood gates) at the three creeks (marked "X" on the map).
  • These gates remain open after the rain, to allow drainage of the surface water.
  • A day or two later, water from the Great Swamp and the Upper Passaic River gets through the Gorge and down to the Stirling area.  Then, the flood gates close, to keep the river from backing up into those creeks.
The USACE representative proposed this tentative schedule.
  • 2003 - Continue to develop the plan.  Public Review in the Summer.
  • 2004 - Congressional funding
  • 2006 - Construction
The current documents for this project are on the  USACE website .
Map and logo images courtesy of the US Army Corps of Engineers.
The mouseover pop-ups can not be printed directly.  For convenience, the contents of these pop-ups are repeated below.
"Corps of Engineers presentation"
The USACE contents page lists seven PDF and Powerpoint files.  You will need an Adobe Acrobat Reader for the PDF files, and the Powerpoint page only works on the latest Internet Explorer browser.  Anticipate at least 30 minutes to download all the charts if you are using a modem.  The seven pages you will receive include some boilerplate that is not summarized on this webpage.

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