Warren Utility Board acts
to rid hazards before next
super storm
•
http://newjerseyhills.com/echoes-sentinel/news/warren-utilityboard-acts-to-rid-hazards-before-next-super/article_25428660c007-11e3-a797-0019bb2963f4.html
Posted: Friday, April 11, 2014 9:00 am
By BRIAN WOODS staff writer | 0 comments
WARREN TWP. – The Utility Advisory Committee gave a talk at the
Thursday, April 3, Township Committee meeting on a project it has
undertaken to eliminate hazards – and therefore prevent power
outages – before the next super storm hits New Jersey.
Utility Advisory Committee co-Chairman Bob Morrison gave a
PowerPoint presentation, explaining that in November of 2012, the
committee decided to take action before another storm has the
chance to leave behind wreckage similar to that of Superstorm Sandy.
To ease the minds of residents and prevent power outages from
happening, the committee partnered with Rutgers University and
power companies, JCP&L and PSE&G, to come up with a solution to
minimize power outages.
The committee worked with Rutgers professor, Dr. Janne Lindqvist,
and her class, to create the Hazard Inventory Phone Application,
while it also teamed up with power companies to fix the hazards that
were identified.
“The hazard application allowed us to go out into the community and
document every single hazard that existed on our utility
infrastructure. The work occurred during the spring and summer of
2013,” said Morrison.
Morrison then went on to explain what the phone application
specifically does. “We had a phone app that would take a picture of
the hazard and then be able to identify what the type of hazard was,
whether it was a pole, a wire, or a tree that needed to be addressed,”
he said. “Once we identified (the hazard), we were able to geo-code
the location of the hazard, the number, and document it into a
database. All the information was put into a database so that we could
then take action with the utility companies.”
After the application was created, the inventory of hazards was
started in April of 2013. The final inventory data found that there
were 351 utility hazards that threatened the infrastructure in Warren:
106 were wires, 29 were poles, and 216 had to do with tree issues.
Once the hazards were listed in inventory, the committee and the
power companies went to work.
“We have five teams of 15 volunteers who worked over one weekend
to cover off 144 miles of electrical system within the township,” said
Morrison. “The work occurred during the spring and summer of 2013.
We had the main roads completed by the police department during
their off peak hours and the final recheck was done Oct 1, 2013.”
The PowerPoint included slides that showed a before and after map of
pole, wire and tree hazards. The before map showed all 351 hazards,
while the after map showed that 95 percent of the hazards have been
eliminated. The rest are expected to be eliminated by the end of April,
according to Morrison.
“What this really means is that 100 percent of our township will have
all of our utilities issues remediated before the next hurricane season.
We have stabilized the utility infrastructure, we stabilized the electric
infrastructure for our citizens, so that hopefully we can at least
eliminate, if not reduce, the duration of outages that we have in the
township,” said Morrison.
Morrison commended his committee, as well as the others who
volunteered to help, as he listed people who volunteered their time
and effort. On the list were Township Committee members George
Lazo and Carolann Garafola, as well as the whole Utility Advisory
Committee, Lindqvist and her students, and members of JCP&L and
PSE&G, most notably Stan Prater from JCP&L, who was in the
audience.
“I am very pleased to present this report on behalf of my committee
members. I thank them for their hard work and the Township
Committee for their support,” Morrison concluded.
The Township Committee applauded the work of the Utility Advisory
Committee, while admitting it would be preferable if it doesn’t have to
be tested.
“Hopefully we won’t have to use it, but you never know,” said
Township Administrator Mark Krane.