STAFFORD – After years of monitoring stormwater conditions in Stafford’s downtown basins, the Township is preparing to move forward with two major bioswale installations funded through a recently awarded grant. Officials say the improvements are the result of a longstanding collaboration with Rutgers University aimed at reducing persistent flooding in the area.
Township Administrator Matthew von der Hayden said the initiative began several years ago, when the Township started collecting water samples to evaluate why certain downtown basins repeatedly struggled during heavy rain.
“We were taking water samples, and there are three basins in the downtown section of the Township,” he said. “Back in 2020 we started to look at it, and Rutgers came out and helped identify locations.”
Rutgers determined that two of the basins frequently saw water pooling after storms. “There were certain points in time where we would get lots of rain and water would lay on the road toward the first basin,” von der Hayden said. Rutgers also conducted water-quality analysis on the samples collected.
Using those findings, Rutgers developed concept designs for two bioswales and additional rain garden options. Von der Hayden said the Township completed a smaller bioswale last year with financial help from Ocean County’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) allocation.
“The county was awesome. We were able to do that project, and it finished this past year,” he said.
The remaining basins required a separate funding source. Von der Hayden said the Township applied for a 319(h) grant to cover construction of the final two bioswales. “We applied for the two other basins to be installed, and that’s what we were funded for,” he said.
Although the award has been announced, officials are still waiting for the formal grant agreement from the state. “Usually they’ll put the grant announcement out first, but then there’s a process to put the grant agreement in place,” von der Hayden said. “We’ve yet to receive that information.”
A statewide meeting with all grant recipients is scheduled, during which municipalities will receive instructions on completing their agreements. “Once we get that, then we’ll have to do the work to accept the grant agreement so the mayor can sign off on it,” he said. A formal Township Council resolution will follow.
A construction timeline will not be available until the grant agreement is in place and the project goes out to bid.
“Once we get the kickoff meeting, that’s when we’ll get the OK to bid the project,” von der Hayden said. “After we have a contractor, we’ll be able to establish a schedule for the work.”
