The FEMA flood zone map paints a clear picture: the red zone flows from the top of Knollwood Terrace all the way down to St. Helen’s Church. That entire corridor is vulnerable. During heavy rains, basements flood, streets turn into canals, and sump pumps get overworked. This isn’t just an inconvenience — it hits us financially too. Homeowners in flood zones pay more for insurance, see a potential drag on their home values and lose full access to their homes. There’s also the constant, exhausting mental burden of worrying whenever the weather app shows a storm warning. 

We can build on our coordinated approach to flood mitigation — the Town has done great work, but there’s more that we can do. First, we can reestablish the Westfield Infrastructure Resilience Committee and find a meeting cadence and a backlog-tracking that works and helps us to prioritize projects and communicate progress as opportunities arise. Second, l will advocate for stronger coordination with PSEG, especially to keep power lines clear of tree limbs and falling hazards that knock out power during storms. Third, we can rethink how incorporate rain gardens on public land, learning from the success we’ve already seen at Tamaques Park and the Westfield Library. 

If we act, we can re-imagine our neighborhood. Our ponds and streams could be clean and healthy, fed by pollution-absorbing rain gardens. Our lights would stay on, even in a storm, because we’ve taken proactive steps to protect the grid. And most importantly, our homes would be safe and dry — so we could actually stop and appreciate those ducks when they come by, instead of worrying about flooded basements. 

If flooding is something that keeps you worry about, please reach out and share your experience with me. Every story helps and every neighbor’s voice matters. Let’s work together to keep our homes safe, our infrastructure strong and our community resilient.