What happens when a private university builds new buildings and additions in one municipality, but the storm water runs off and overwhelms the infrastructure of a neighboring town?

Neighbors who live right next to Seton Hall University in South Orange have experienced groundwater in their yards and homes like never before in recent years. Sump pumps run constantly, yards are saturated after only minor rain storms and devastating flooding occurs during major storms. Neighbors have reason to believe that development on Seton Hall's campus - its green space being replaced by buildings, pavement, and turf - have exacerbated this flooding, as excess groundwater has nowhere to go but into adjacent neighborhoods. 

Newark’s Ivy Hill, a majority black neighborhood, experienced unimaginable flooding during Ida. Many are still trying to get compensated for the losses during that storm. The Ivy Hill residents have been appealing to Seton Hall to pause their plans to build an annex to their sports facility as they wait for the completion of a hydrological study to pinpoint the cause of the flooding to their homes. Mayor Ras Baraka wrote a letter to the South Orange Planning Board asking them to pause the case, but Seton Hall would not consent. 

The stormwater infrastructure in our towns are a hundred years old and their current capacity is unknown. The Elm/University Court neighborhood that is downhill from Seton Hall University experienced devastating flooding during Superstorm Ida. Recent scoping revealed that stormwater pipes in the area were 70% clogged and operating at 30% capacity. There is an urgent need for similar studies to be done of the entire area before approvals are granted for new buildings so that correct mitigation strategies can be devised. 

We strongly urge Seton Hall and the South Orange Planning Board to pause the project application until a hydrological study and full Environmental Impact study can be completed. We urge Seton Hall, South Orange, Newark and Essex County to work collaboratively to address this environmental injustice that is occurring in our backyard. 

Please attend the next South Orange Planning Board meeting on December 5th @ 7:30pm to make your voices heard.  The meeting is open to the public via webex, but you must preregister:

December 5th Planning Board

For more information on the issues, please read:

Newark Steps Up Pressure to Delay SHU Development

An article in the Sentonian contains photos that help to illuminate the flooding issues:

Seton Hall Contributing to Flooding