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Westfield residents urge immediate fixes for repeated flooding at Forest Avenue and Seneca Place
Summary
At a public hearing on the town's MS4 watershed inventory, multiple Westfield residents described repeated flooding that stranded vehicles and required rescues, and urged the council to act now rather than wait for later-phase engineering reports.
Residents of Seneca Place and Forest Avenue asked the Westfield Town Council on the record Wednesday to speed repairs after multiple floods that have stranded vehicles and endangered residents.
During the town's second public hearing on its MS4 (Municipal Separate Stormwater System) watershed inventory, neighbors described frequent and intensifying storms and urged the council to go beyond minimum permit requirements to address sites that flood repeatedly. Rob Lombard, who lives at 267 Seneca Place, said the intersection of Forest Avenue and Seneca Place serves a 130-unit apartment complex and that on at least one occasion emergency personnel performed a water rescue: “There were at least 6 vehicles that were stranded in the intersection. There was a fast water rescue done by our emergency service personnel to rescue 2 people from cars that were trapped,” Lombard said.
The comment period produced consistent demands for faster action. Jacqueline Leigate (268 Seneca Place) urged the council “not to wait 15 months for the assessment and the resolution,” saying she had videos of a fire-department rescue she could provide. Matt Myers said repeated flooding has cost neighbors vehicles and left children shaken: “My children are honestly scarred from this experience,” he said.
Residents also offered a specific technical concern: Lombard said the storm-sewer system appears to shrink downstream, describing inflow pipes of about 33 inches that transition to smaller 30-inch sections two blocks downstream. He suggested that replacing undersized pipe could materially reduce backups: “It's simple common sense to say that that's not right,” Lombard said.
Council member speaker 3 acknowledged the testimony and said the intersection has already been flagged for further analysis as part of the MS4 process. He reminded attendees that the town's draft MS4 watershed inventory is posted online and that engineering staff and a third-party consultant will complete additional infrastructure data to send to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP). The town plans a multi-phase effort: Phase 2 of the watershed report is due in January 2027 and Phase 3 by Dec. 31, 2027, after which engineering analyses and cost estimates will inform implementation priorities.
Several residents asked the council to accelerate work and consider using capital funds already planned for paving to address stormwater fixes near the intersection. Council members did not announce a timeline for immediate pipe replacement; staff said the engineers present would include the public input in the MS4 documentation and follow up.
The council then moved on to its regular agenda.
