Any local flooding
CagedAnimal 
IceWater 
Bessie Is it just me or was the dam removal a total waste of time, money and energy??? I've lived in this town my entire life and the only difference I am observing with this weather today is the increased speed of the river current. I have seen the river higher but never this fast.
Davemy husband and i unplugged one of our sump pumps in our basement last night because it sounding like it was malfunctioning. Big mistake bc we woke up this morning to find about 9 inches of water through the whole basement. Its been a fun morning.
sara43
Sometimes a pump will sound odd if it is only partially submerged causing it to pump a mixture of water and air. Maybe it is too late to mention but there is always next time.
Dave, yes def too late to hear that lol. We were just afraid that it would overheat or something bad would happen with it and its right under our bedroom. So now we know to NEVER unplug it again no matter what sound its making. So far we have 2 pumps pumping out the water onto the driveway and about to put in a third one. However, after they have been running for about 3 hours, there is no decrease in the basement water level which stinks. Might be coming in fast then we can get it out.
Lots of local flooding. East Ave closed by Rite Aide. Golden Skillet parking lot and mobile home park is flooded.
Firefly 
c joseph I know, I was headed to Golds Gym earlier, and going through the Hackettstown intersection instead of crossing through East Street was definitely not my idea of a good time....an extra 15 min each way!
NotaNJNative 
Mommyof2 
PREDATOR 
Waterloo Road flooded this morning...not sure how it is now. About 8" of water across the road.
Dave removal of the dams were to create cleaner healthier water that will support a more ecologically friendly river basin. Better for fish and water temps.
mondrafi 
I hope they don't get any ideas about ever taking down the Saxton Falls dam. I haven't seen the Musconetcong River like this in a long time. Here's a picture from Rustic Knolls.
Wendy I forgot to mention that the picture was taken from my backyard. And I wonder why I get nervous when it rains alot?
A Long Valley woman was killed by a tree during the storm yesterday in CT - http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/20100314/UPDATES01/100314017/Long+Valley+woman+dead+in+storm-related+Conn.+crash
Randi 
Jay Denville is under water, almost all streets. St. Clare's parking lots are more than 3 feet deep, up to the tops of the chainlink fences.
I find it ironic that back when they took over Dover General, then making the decision to close DGH and make Denville the primary care locatioon, that during emergencies like this, they are inaccessible, and have to divert all emergencies to DGH.
I have no clue, but would'nt less dam's be beneficial during heavy rain?
I'm thinking ya'll blaming flooding on dam removal and not ma' nature is a little silly.
dsangie - There's a reason dam's have flood gates that should be raised at times like this. It's because you're right and dams cause serious flooding behind them if they can't allow for more than normal flow. If you look at Saxton right now, it's causing flooding at the areas on Waterloo right behind it. Dams are for raising water levels during dry periods. At times like this they cause issues instead of solve them.
I believe my comments were misunderstood. I don't think the removal of the dams created any more or less flooding. The elevation of the land around them hasn't changed. I just happen to think the speed of the current is swifter in their absence. Like most people who complain about things, I am no doubt due to be educated by the resident experts on everything that patrol this forum. All I did was look at the speed of the river and suggest that I don't recall ever seeing it this fast. I have, though, seen it much higher.
Dave - I can only speak for myself, but I didn't even realize you commented. I only responded to dsangie's post on its own merits. If you were talking about the current, you're probably right that the lack of dams means a faster current. But that should be a good thing in times of potential flooding - more capacity to remove the excess water.
Now that I read the comment about spending money - are you aware of the town council's comments on the dam removal? I was at a meeting where they say it saved the town a whole bunch of money. Without the free removal they said they would have had to spend tax payer money on repairs.
GC,
No I was not aware of our town having to pay for any repairs but weren't there some thirty or so dam scheduled for removal along the Muscy? I still don't get how a faster current isn't a greater hazard and a greater contributor to erosion.I also don't get how "removal of the dams were to create cleaner healthier water that will support a more ecologically friendly river basin. Better for fish and water temps." Perhaps this should be left to the abundance of "experts" in this world who know everything. I will continue to bask in my ignorance!
To all of the "experts" out there, I'm sorry I said anything. I was obviously way out of line! I don't know how the fish survived as long as they did.
In my 5+ years here i have seen flooding like this a few times. It's been very similar and that was all before the dam was taken down.
Bryan 
I didn't realize the Saxton Falls dam was causing problems upstream. There are still a few homes up there but it's hard to see some of them from the road. I remember in August 2000 we were evacuated because there was concern that the Saxton Falls dam might break.
Does anyone remember why the State of NJ bought so many of the houses on Waterloo Road in Allamuchy and Byram? They still demolish some of the vacated homes every few years. Did the state just purchase for incorporation into the park or was there some plan to build a big dam that was canceled? Maybe I'm getting it confused with the Tocks Island project.
And here's a picture of my dock from yesterday.
The homes were purchased in the early 1960's when there was a plan to create a large reservoir along the valley from Hackettstown toward Byram. It was discovered later that the geological area along the valley was not suitable for a reservoir. This was also the time the founder of Waterloo Village, P.Leach, was able to broker the deal to have the state buy several thousand acres of land now comprising the Allamuchy Mt. State Park. As an aside, that tract of land has historic value as prior to becoming the Stuyvesant property it was a land grant from George the II to William Penn. Penn later moved further west and settled Pennsylvania. Leach clearly understood the historic value and wanted the land strictly for the preservation aspect as he was well under way with purchasing and restoring Waterloo Village at the time. The state was thinking of the just a reservoir. Between the restoration of Waterloo, RT. 80 and the unsuitable nature of the region, the plan was dead. The homes were under the control of the Division of Water Resources up until the mid 1990's when they were absorbed by the Treasury department. And you are correct the plan is as each home becomes empty they will be removed returning the area to a more natural state.
Greg 
Thanks Greg for the info. Kind of sad seeing some of the old, quirky looking buildings being torn down though. I always liked this little one by Saxton's Falls but it was demolished with the last batch of vacant buildings.
Does anyone know why they have not torn down Elsie's? That's the vacant bar where the boat launch is and it looks like they just patch it up every once in a while.
I agree there was some interesting old buildings around that area. There was one tiny little place that had a sign on it that read "It Suits Us". Cute. Back in the late 1980's I lived in a tiny place right on the river just up stream from Saxton Falls that was perfectly charming. And get this, the rent was $190.00 per month!
Elsie's was a lock tenders house on the Morris Canal. There is a lock behind the structure that was filled in and buried many years ago. We had looked at that site and had a historic and structural analysis done several times over the years with restoration in mind. It would be very costly and actually there is very little original structure left. What is left is in need of a ton of work. It has been remodeled so many times over the years that it simply is just not practical. With that said I believe the NJ Canal Society continues to explore that site for some sort of interpretation.
if you are really really really old like me you will remember the old tavern and sandwich shop that stood across the Waterloo road from the Saxton falls swimming hole that was formerly part of the Morris canal...this building was torn down years ago
hack with somany people out of work in the state it state could hire day workers to fix up historic sights like the wpa did when the roads were cut though the smokie mountains they could restore the canal clear the streams of dead fall
Ditch digging and moving rocks Caged? Hard to find laborers like that today that don't natively "habla" Spanish...
Hack- I always hoped a photo of that building in its heyday would surface. I had never seen one. We had taken control of it in the mid 1980's and had run a juvenile rehabilitation program, the NJ Youth Corps, for many years from that site. It was a great program with the days split between classroom studies and hands on field work. Much of the restoration work on that building and the smaller one next to it was completed by the students. Sadly, the funding ran dry from Community Affairs and the program was ceased in that location. We realized the buildings were no longer needed by us and we turned control back over to the state. We hoped the state would seize the opportunity to have some other organization or at least find some other practical use for these remodeled structures. The result was they sat empty for several years, deteriorated and were taken down a few years back.
Greg - I thought I remember recently reading about a grant award to restore Lock tenders house(elsies) or study it options.
http://www.nj.com/warrenreporter/index.ssf/2010/02/new_life_for_morris_canal_at_s.html
Although I think that in poor economic times its going to upset some folks to spend money here while your cutting from everyone else however time doesn't stand still and some of our local history is disappearing.
Check out www.canalsocietynj.org go to their newsletters, find the latest one. download the pdf. I think theres some good info there.
http://canalsocietynj.org/onthelevels/Sep09.pdf some stuff here, some stuff on the newer one too about saxton falls area.
I don't know a lot of the places you all are mentioning, but I do remember the one that hack just posted...
Lori...since '73 
here is a picture of the morris canal lock that existed behind Elsies tavern...on Waterloo rd...though some sections of the lock remain...i believe it was partially demolished many years ago...when Elsies tavern was still open she had a framed picture of a canal boat on the wall...and the words...Hong Kong Via the Morris Canal were printed on the picture
Great! locktender is ready to receive an eastbound boat.
why did the pic say'Hong Kong Via the Morris Canal'??
i cant explain that saying on the picture...my wildest guess is that with Elsies being a locktenders house as well as a tavern...they might have seen quite a cast of characters coming and going...on the canal...i also know that Chinese clay soy pots from well over 100 years ago have been found in and around Hackettstown...that also might explain the saying...
Just the way my mind works but when I looked at the picture of the man standing by the canal my first thought was ,wonder what his name was?Anybody else nosy like me?lol
yogel 
the man in the picture was a member of the Bird family... they were the locktenders at the guinea Hollow lock for many years
I saw a few remarks on dams and thought I'd chime in. Saxton falls is a "run of the river" dam, meaning that as much water as flows into the reservoir above it, flows out. The dam provides no flood mitigation, no diversions for irrigation or drinking water. In other words it just sits in the river and backs up a pool behind it. During floods like last week, it does not slow the river, in fact if anything it increase flow immediately below.
Removing the dam would allow for slight relief during minor flooding as the former lake behind the dam would act as a flood plain and allow the river to expand absorb some of the flood. In rains like we had last week, it would not have mattered one way or the other, except for perhaps slowing the river slightly in and around the actual dam site.
Agust
Agust Original canal era dam made the river navigable for a mile.
Was the present dam built around 1924 when canal was played out & taken out of service?
Why was it replaced? Did the present dam ever serve a purpose?
the original Saxton Falls dam was for a mill...the builders of the Morris Canal purchased the dam...and presumably the attached water rights...so as to make that stretch of the Musconetcong river navigable...for slack water canal boats...the current dam has a floodgate that can be raised and lowered...perhaps that might be one reason not to demolish the existing dam... although lowering the water level behind the existing dam will create one huge mudflat all the way upstream past Elsies old tavern... if you really want to read some great information about the Morris Canal...the whole issue about water rights...and the court battles that ensued are very interesting
We have all these dams why can we start thinking about green energy. I know they are no Hoover Dam but everylittle bit helps.
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