Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Flood Protection topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Engineer: Wampum Lake spillway in poor condition; design includes steel sheeting, scour protection and ADA access
Summary
T&M Associates told Eatontown council the ARH inspection found the dam and timber bulkhead deteriorated and two sluice gates inoperable; the proposed design calls for steel sheet piling, Reno-mattress scour protection, a 6-foot ADA sidewalk and optional timber fishing piers. Funding will be a mix of grants and local capital.
T&M Associates presented the borough with preliminary design plans to repair the Wampum Lake spillway and dam, citing an August 2022 ARH inspection that found the dam structure and timber bulkhead in poor condition. The engineer said the facility—the dam dates to 1954—has extensive cracking and section loss in the concrete and that the sluice-gate system used to control lake elevation “is inoperable.”
T&M’s plans call for replacing the failing timber bulkhead with steel sheet piling, installing stone-filled “Reno mattress” scour protection about 18 inches thick along vulnerable embankments and restoring park surfaces above the protection so the area remains a lawn and public amenity. The engineer also recommended restoring two 24-inch sluice conduits and noted the project will include a 6-foot-wide concrete ADA-access sidewalk that ties the park to other existing sidewalks. The consultant described optional timber, pile-supported fishing piers (roughly 8-by-10 to 10-by-12 feet) as an add-alternate for bids.
Mayor said the borough will pursue grant funding but expects a shortfall after recent federal budget adjustments; council members discussed listing bid alternates so the borough can decide which amenities to add after bids come back. T&M recommended coordinating utility upgrades—replacement of an aging sewer pump station and any necessary water or electric work—while the site is open, to avoid repeated future excavations. The council asked the engineer for a clarified cost estimate and for the grant-eligible scope the mayor has applied for.
“The sluice gates that are there today are inoperable,” the T&M representative told the council, summarizing why immediate remedial design work is needed. The council recessed follow-up questions for a more detailed cost-benefit analysis to be delivered in the coming weeks.
