VIDEO: Reservoir Over Capacity When Irene Came

The Jersey City Reservoir already was above capacity due to heavy rains earlier in the month when Hurricane Irene made its way up the coast, a United Water official told Township Committee members on Tuesday, leading some on the committee to question why the water company didn't do more to release water leading up to the storm, or to communicate to towns in advance how serious flooding might be.

On the evening of Aug. 28, water was starting to go over the dam so United Water notified local Offices of Emergency Management—including Parsippany's—about the situation at the dam, which prompted last-minute evacuations in the Pinte Brook section of Montville, but the warning was rescinded an hour later.

Committeeman Scott Gallopo said officials from around New Jersey, including at the state and federal levels, are looking to enact changes that would make it easier to have water released from reservoirs before storms.

"Every community is focusing on this," Gallopo said. "It is going to be dealt with."

The Township Committee meeting on Tuesday in the municipal building featured a special session on Hurricane Irene, and included a presentation by Scott DiGirolamo, Office of Emergency Management coordinator for Morris County, on how to seek help from FEMA, and by Montville Police Lt. Rudy Appelmann, the township's coordinator. Township Administrator Frank Bastone went over a report of lessons learned from the hurricane and the town's response, from debris cleanup and communication efforts to shelter arrangements. About 80 residents attended the meeting. Many of the residents said they were affected by flooding.

John Hroncich, operations manager for United Water Jersey City, which operates the Jersey City Reservoir, said at the meeting that the reservoir is designed and regulated to provide drinking water, not flood mitigation, and that the company is not allowed to release water without approval from the Department of Environmental Protection.

It did release water on Friday and Saturday leading up to the storm after the state encouraged companies to do so. But it would have taken weeks to release enough water to make up for the record amounts of water surging into the reservoir the day after the storm, he said.

He said records show the reservoir saw more rain in August—14.1 inches—than it did during any other month over the past century. He said it's difficult to predict weather events and he said the flip side to keeping water levels down at the reservoir to avoid flooding is that it could lead to water restrictions during droughts.