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Chinese Water Resources Officials Visit New Jersey Borough

Keyport, New Jersey hosted a delegation visiting from the Water Resources Department of
Guangdong Province, China Feb. 24. The purpose of the visit was to demonstrate floodplain management in practice at the community level, which China is actively trying to enhance. D. George Guo of Rutgers University deserves a great deal of credit for coordinating this event. He also acted as translator for the visit.

Bob Berlew, construction official and zoning officer of Keyport hosted the visitors at Keyport Borough Hall. Berlew invited Cleighton Smith, consultant and floodplain management training instructor, Tom Little and Mike Graham of Smart Vent, and Jason Shea, Robert Vohden and Christina Rasmussen of the US Army Corps of Engineers. Smith gave a brief overview of floodplain management, which involved floodplain maps, regulations that apply to mapped floodplains, and associated insurance for properties in the community. Little and Graham demonstrated products that assist in meeting those regulations, such as flood vents and flood closure walls. The Corps officials gave an overview of the components of the flood protection
project at Union Beach, NJ.

Berlew then led the group on a tour of the area, which included flooded properties near Borough Hall and reconstruction and retrofitting efforts underway. A visit to a flood-proofed
factory in Union Beach had to be cancelled as the delegation need to head to JFK Airport.

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