The streets of Newark, brimming with commuters heading to work and school, are becoming increasingly flooded with stormwater. Cars, trucks, and vehicles of all kinds stall in churning brown water, basement apartments fill up with murky runoff, and transit users watch hopelessly as water floods the tracks of Newark Penn Station. Such incidents are turning into the new norm. Scientists from across the nation warn about the increasing rates of intense, short rainfall — the kind that overwhelms drains and plumbing, producing flash floods within minutes. With Newark’s aging infrastructure in the backdrop of a rising current of social instability, much like the currents beneath the streets from overflowing drains, city hall must eventually confront the tide.
These climate developments are rooted in the impact of climate change. Rising carbon dioxide emissions are warming the atmosphere and allowing it to trap more moisture, and climate models show severe precipitation events as temperatures increase. Dense, metropolitan areas like Newark developed at a time when such weather patterns were rare, leaving the city’s infrastructure and local geography vulnerable to this new climate reality. If the trend continues, with storm drains and sewers overloaded beyond capacity, riverside floods will become the common narrative for such cities.
Most of Newark’s neighborhoods, especially the older ones, drain into combined sewer systems that carry stormwater and sewage in the same pipes simultaneously. Whenever storms exceed capacity, the stormwater and raw sewage flood streets and basements. The Passaic River borders the eastern edge of the city and is one of the most polluted rivers in the nation, according to national conservation nonprofit American Rivers. With a water quality significantly below EPA standards, the river will raise health hazards if it floods into the city from heavy rainfall.
However, Newark is not waiting around. Last year, the city’s Water & Sewer Department launched an initiative known as “RainReady Newark,” which aims to increase stormwater capture, reduce the runoff, and provide aid to neighborhoods across the city during storms. RainReady Newark implements rain gardens, tree planting, and permeable pavements to slow water down before it floods streets and enters the sewers. In addition, city planners decided to coordinate emergency responses by mapping out flood-prone regions in order to utilize resources effectively for intense rainfall events. Nevertheless, these significant steps are unfortunately not enough to combat the implications of the changing rainfall patterns and won’t fix aging pipes or cracked roads. Ambitious funding and coordination are necessary to tackle the tide of rainfall headfirst.
Consequently, the impact of the intense rainfall will not be felt equally. Residents in low-income neighborhoods of the city and renters inhabiting the lower floors of apartment buildings are the most prone to experiencing effects from street flooding and sewage backflow. The aftermath of the floods will raise repair costs, damage property, and cause lost work hours. In the long term, frequent floods will cause economic repercussions. With businesses rethinking investment, property values in vulnerable parts of Newark will fall behind, and municipal budgets will be under more of a chokehold than they are now. Altogether, this raises the disparity in how different neighborhoods of Newark will face the challenges ahead.
Ultimately, the fate of the city’s response is at the behest of the officials in charge and the responsibility they owe to their constituents. In the immediate term, heavy rain events and flash floods will become frequent occurrences. Residents across the city and country at large must pressure their leaders to implement community-driven projects and climate-conscious initiatives to withstand these changing weather conditions. Heavy rain will keep coming, but we have the potential to be just as heavily prepared.
