TRENTON - Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette today presented the second Our Water’s Worth It trophy to Lambertville for the city’s tireless efforts to improve its stormwater management program to address flooding issues, better protect local waterbodies and become more resilient to the impacts of climate change. The Commissioner presented the award as part of the Department of Environmental Protection’s recognition of Climate Week, which provides the public with an opportunity to learn more about climate change and the steps that can be taken to mitigate its impacts. 

The award, presented during a ceremony at a stormwater infrastructure improvement project site behind the Lambertville Firehouse, is part of the DEP’s Our Water’s Worth It campaign launched earlier this year to emphasize the importance of protecting our water supplies. The award program acknowledges water systems, wastewater systems, municipalities, and others, that set a good example by going above and beyond to protect water resources, and improve drinking water quality, service and reliability for the residents they serve.

“Modernization of stormwater management strategies and infrastructure is critical to mitigating flooding that is severely impacting communities across New Jersey,” Commissioner LaTourette said. “My DEP colleagues and I applaud Lambertville for paving the way for others to follow in managing stormwater more effectively.”

“Lambertville is honored to receive the Our Water’s Worth It trophy, and I would like to express my deep gratitude to the DEP for a partnership that has yielded countless benefits to the continued viability and success of our city and, correspondingly, to the communities downstream,” said Lambertville Mayor Andrew J. Nowick. “When we remember that communities are interconnected through the health of our waterways, it makes partnerships all the more important.”

“Frequent flooding in New Jersey causes millions of dollars in property damage, threatens drinking water, and even endangers lives. The combination of both climate change and outdated infrastructure is overwhelming our stormwater systems. Lambertville has been a leader in New Jersey for tackling the issue of flooding proactively - updating and enhancing their stormwater control ordinance,” said Allison McLeod, Senior Policy Director at New Jersey League of Conservation Voters. “Lambertville also recently conducted a feasibility study for the exploration of a stormwater utility, which New Jersey LCV was honored to provide funding for. We look forward to continuing to work with Lambertville to find solutions to flooding in the city.”

 “As rain events that overwhelm our stormwater systems and pollute our waterways intensify, communities across New Jersey have explored methods to address these issues. Through numerous efforts, including updating and enhancing their Stormwater Control Ordinance, Lambertville has established itself as a model community for proactive stormwater management planning and implementation,” said Lindsey Massih, New Jersey Future Program Manager. “New Jersey Future’s Mainstreaming Green Infrastructure Program encourages nature-based solutions to manage flood risk and improve water quality. One tool we offer is an Enhanced Model Stormwater Ordinance, and Lambertville has used NJDEP’s regulations and NJF’s model ordinance enhancements to address water quality and mitigate localized flooding. We look forward to our continued partnership with the city to help plan and implement green infrastructure and other stormwater solutions.”

“Princeton Hydro is proud to partner with the City of Lambertville on vital stormwater management initiatives to enhance the city’s infrastructure,” said Christiana Pollack, Director of Restoration & Resilience at Princeton Hydro. “Together, we’re protecting the environment and promoting resilience against future flooding challenges.”

“There is a lot of work to be done to upgrade our state’s stormwater infrastructure and to improve water quality and reduce flooding, but these benefits cannot be achieved without the cooperation between the state and local communities. Lambertville has proven to be an invaluable partner in these efforts and a true leader among municipalities,” said Jennifer Moriarty, Assistant Commissioner for Watershed and Land Management. “A careful approach to understanding stormwater infrastructure and the implementation of infrastructure upgrades is needed to prevent losses, nonpoint source pollution and system failure. The upgrades being undertaken by Lambertville, and the other municipalities will undoubtably help to minimize the adverse effects of stormwater on our communities.”

Lambertville’s Actions on Stormwater Management

Given current and predicted increases in precipitation resulting from climate change, it is essential that both new and existing infrastructure is equipped to handle increased rainfall and more frequent flooding events. Local stormwater infrastructure throughout the state is often not properly sized or sufficiently maintained to manage existing or increasing risks. Inadequate or poorly managed stormwater infrastructure can exacerbate flooding from intense storm events.

Lambertville, which is prone to flooding due to its location along the Delaware River, has been working diligently to upgrade its stormwater management program by meeting permitting requirements ahead of the schedule set forth through DEP’s municipal stormwater permitting program. The DEP provided the city a $75,000 grant to assist with the stormwater program upgrades.

Specific steps the city has taken include:

- Completing a Stormwater Pollution Prevention plan that outlines its stormwater program and describes measures to comply with DEP’s permit conditions, including identifying improvements to better manage stormwater by retrofitting or replacing storm drain inlets to meet new standards and reduce stormwater discharges of pollutants and nutrients that negatively impact local waterways. Actions identified in the plan include the adoption of stormwater-related ordinances to prevent improper pet waste disposal, require clearing of debris from storm drains before storms, implementing a street-sweeping program and municipal maintenance yard best-management practices, and the completion of a Watershed Improvement Plan.

- Digitizing the locations of stormwater infrastructure using DEP’s online stormwater mapping tool to aid planning efforts, prioritize improvements and identify and make repairs to damaged storm drain inlets more efficiently.

- Completing a stormwater utility feasibility study that provides an in-depth analysis of creating a fee-based stormwater utility to fund improvements that would reduce flooding and enhance water quality. Lambertville affirmed that an increased revenue stream will be required to meet its stormwater management needs, and the study initiated a targeted public outreach program to gather feedback on the matter.

The DEP has encouraged communities across the state to consider forming a stormwater utility to dedicate funds directly to stormwater management which allow them to properly operate, maintain, repair, and improve their storm sewer systems as necessary. For an overview of the process for establishing a stormwater utility and related guidance on topics such as stormwater asset management plans, performing feasibility studies, and various rate structure options for setting fees and credits, visit dep.nj.gov/njpdes-stormwater/swu_stormwaterutility.

Climate Resilience Planning

In addition to being proactive on stormwater management, the city has been active with the DEP’s Office of Climate Resilience in developing a Climate Resilience Action Plan. Last year the DEP awarded Lambertville a grant of more than $150,000 through its Resilient NJ: Municipal Assistance Program to work with a qualified consultant team to develop, and begin to implement, a municipal climate resilience action plan. This plan works to evaluate vulnerability to current and future hazards including rising temperatures, flooding, and hurricanes, among others.

“Lambertville has continually demonstrated their commitment to building a climate-resilient community by taking on a wide array of local-led efforts,” said Nick Angarone, New Jersey’s Chief Resilience Officer. “These actions reflect a broad definition of climate resilience, encompassing stormwater management and green infrastructure, proactive policy changes, and effective community outreach and engagement. This diverse array of efforts has made Lambertville a model community for local-led resilience action in the state.”

Our Water’s Worth It Campaign

The DEP launched the Our Water’s Worth It campaign earlier this year to raise public awareness about the fundamental importance of our water supplies, the threats they face, and the steps DEP is taking to ensure all New Jerseyans have access to clean drinking water and healthy waterways.

As part of the campaign, the DEP is recognizing those who have shown exemplary commitment to protecting the state’s water resources. This past July, the DEP presented the first Our Water’s Worth It award to Ridgewood Water for its efforts over the years to conserve water and to protect public health by addressing PFAS contamination.

In the coming months, DEP will select additional awardees highlighting local contributions to protecting water supplies and public health, improving the health of waterways, and water conservation. For more information about Our Water’s Worth It, visit dep.nj.gov/ourwatersworthit.

Safe and Reliable Water as an Administration Priority

Providing New Jersey residents with safe and reliable water supplies is a top priority of the Murphy Administration and Commissioner LaTourette. Earlier this year the administration celebrated a record-setting, billion-dollar investment in water infrastructure throughout the state as project funding in FY24 surpassed $1 billion for the first time.

Furthering the goal to protect the state’s water resources, the administration earmarked $54.6 million in the FY25 state budget for drinking and clean water infrastructure improvements across the Garden State. The budget appropriation provides a match for larger federal funds.

The DEP oversees programs that reduce lead exposure in homes and businesses, protect the long-term viability of water supplies such as reservoirs and groundwater sources, monitor for drought conditions, educate the public about the importance of testing wells and reducing lead exposure, and manage stormwater to better protect surface water sources.

In 2022, the Administration launched the innovative Water Infrastructure Investment Plan (WIIP) to assess and address high priority water infrastructure needs throughout the state. Through WIIP, the state is spurring record investments in clean water and drinking water infrastructure that are creating good-paying jobs while providing safe and reliable drinking water, reducing flooding, and improving the quality of New Jersey’s waterways. For more information on WIIP, visit dep.nj.gov/wiip/.