By Juanitia Adams,

Citizen’s Campaign Staff

PERTH AMBOY – Perth Amboy residents remember well the devastation of Super Storm Sandy. Causing millions of dollars in damages, the devastation did not spare area landmarks like Seabra’s Armory and the city’s waterfront. In the years since 2012, the city has rebuilt much of what was destroyed. Although, scientists predict intense storms could be one of the weather impacts of climate change.

Realizing the importance of community involvement in the solution search, The Citizens Campaign, in partnership with the City of Perth Amboy, New Jersey Urban Mayors Association and New Jersey Future, hosted a Storm Resiliency conference at City Hall on April 25^th.

With opening remarks from Mayor Diaz, the free conference began with her updating Perth Amboy Civic Trustees and residents on the City’s reconstruction efforts. Held shortly after Earth Day, the expert panelists were representative of some of the most important environmental and business organizations from Perth Amboy and around New Jersey.

Panelist Greg Fehrenbach, former business administrator of Perth Amboy, began the conversation by detailing the specific damages and improvements made in the storms aftermath. Citizens questioned him on the city’s efforts in overseeing the damage caused to area waterways like the Arthur Kill.

Following his presentation, Chris Sturm, the Senior Director of State Policy at New Jersey Future, spoke on the unique challenges facing the City’s sewer drainage infrastructure. One of only twenty one cities in New Jersey to use a combined sewer system (CSO’s), this system presents unique challenges during storms. As they are designedto discharge sewage into area waterways when the volume of stormwater is too great for a cities treatment plant to handle.

Realizing these unique challenges, Perth Amboy Civic Trustees and residents have collaborated with the Rutgers Water Resources Program. This organization promotes Green Infrastructure projects around the state. The final presenter, Michelle Hartmann, a Design Specialist with the program, spoke of the importance of community involvement in building a more storm resilient Perth Amboy.

This conference is a direct result of the research and solution search of the Perth Amboy Civic Trust, a program facilitated by The Citizens Campaign. Raising awareness of the unique issues Perth Amboy faces, Civic Trustees aim to educate themselves and the public to the new realities facing many of our coastal cities because of climate change.

Not without a solution, The Citizens Campaign’s Civic Trustees will present the ‘Comprehensive Storm & Flood Protection Resolution’ to the Perth Amboy Planning Board on May 6, 2015. This resolution, formerly adopted by the city of Trenton, moves flooding and other storm impacts to the forefront in city master planning.