Floodgates Raised in Anticipation of Nor'easter

The floodgates on the Pompton Lake dam have again been raised in anticipation of a nor’easter forecast to bring rain to North Jersey.

Mayor Chris Vergano and Assemblyman Scott Rumana confirmed the gates were opened and five feet of water drained out from the lake. The gates will remain open to allow additional water to drain from the lake and maintain the amount of water behind the dam, Rumana said.

The gates are controlled by the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

The same procedure was done before Hurricane Sandy struck North Jersey last week to mitigate any potential flooding threat that storm posed.

“Hopefully, this is how it will be before major storms from now on,” Rumana said. “The procedure we now see development is that when the gates after a storm the water is immediately replenished behind the dam. We need to show the DEP that this is a flowing body of water. Now, we won’t get that surge of water coming down.”

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