I have been actively engaged in the Superstorm Sandy recovery and rebuilding efforts, among other Rutgers University responsibilities. The Sandy projects that I have been leading in and the related news reports are listed below:
1. Flood Risk Reduction Strategies for Vulnerable Coastal Populations around Barnegat Bay, Hackensack River, Hudson River, Arthur Kill, and Delaware Bay. These studies are sponsored by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) and the Governor's Office of Recovery and Rebuilding (GORR).
CHRISTIE ADMINISTRATION ANNOUNCES POST-SUPERSTORM SANDY FLOOD MITIGATION STUDIES BY NEW JERSEY UNIVERSITIES
SOE Grant for Flood Mitigation Studies
Rutgers chosen in flood prevention, mitigation
My colleagues, students and I are continuing to work hard on these studies, and are striving to come up with some good solutions that would complement others' studies and make our state and region stronger and more resilient against future storms.
2. Protection of Reconstructed Boardwalk against Future Storms. This study was sponsored by the Borough of Seaside Heights, New Jersey.
Seaside Heights will use wall, dune to protect its boardwalk
Besides involvements with the Sandy-related rebuilding issues, I have continued to express my concern about our aging water infrastructure. My two media interviews last year on this subject are listed below:
Hundreds of Newark fire hydrants unusable as city grapples with aging water system
Old Water Pipes, New Development...Big Problem
The photo above is an image that I took during the technical tour kindly guided by engineers of the City of Elizabeth for our Sandy flood study, looking at the Arthur Kill, on January 7th, 2014.
It was a very cold day due to the arrival of Polar Vortex, with the air temperature of a single digit in Fahrenheit (lower than minus 10 degrees in Celsius). And, several water main breaks were reported across the New Jersey State due to the cold weather as well as the pipe's old age.
