TENAFLY — The Borough engineer presented council members with a design detailing updating drainage systems to current standards and "the best situation for the area." Now council just needs to "get the ball rolling."

The design focused on Elm, Oak and Engle streets, along with Dean Drive improvements. The proposed pipe network would be able to handle a 25-year storm event. The decades-old current piping network that runs down Engle Street isn’t sufficient and "can’t handle all that water," Borough Engineer David Hals said.

Hals presented several alternatives to the council within the project "to get the biggest bang for the buck." Depending on bids received, options can be weighed and adjusted to fit budget guidelines and needs of the Borough. The options included: improvements along Engle Street, a detention basin in Dean Park and a piping network from Elm Street to Dean Drive.

"There’s a lot of alternatives for bids. We can do them one at a time, concurrently or one without the other," said Hals. "My recommendation is the entire project be completed at some time."

The project would "substantially diminish" the water that fills Engle Street on a regular basis, according to the Borough engineer. It involves avoiding utilities to defray costs of digging deeper, pavement replacement, increasing curb height and adding larger pipes within original trenches.

"The inlet is sized to hold as much water as possible and cause the least amount of disturbance to roadway and utility service," Hals said.

The road gets steeper on Elm Street, bringing water down to Dean Drive into a current ponding area that "can’t handle the water," and overflows. One of the alternatives would be to construct a detention basin approximately 50 feet wide with a three-foot depression sloped from the curbline in Dean Park. The surface would be flat, allowing landscaping and maintenance. A pipe underneath would utilize a drainage system for water flow farther down Dean Drive. Until the Dean Drive portion of the project is started, residents in that area will receive more water, but Hals said it would be "a very small amount."

Currently, Dean Drive’s flood height can reach up to three feet. Under the proposed project, the water will still flow through the same pattern as it does, but won’t get higher than the curb making Dean Drive "passable." The basin would be designed to prevent standing water, but officials noted "detention basins are not attractive."

"I’ve seen some of these [detention basins] around, and quite frankly some of you are not going to like it," said Borough Administrator Joseph DiGiacomo. "Let’s get some pictures so we can see as a whole what we’re looking at."

Council members were concerned with the appearance of the detention basin and discussed ways to preserve the integrity of the park. The construction of the basin would mean the removal of approximately 30 trees. The mayor suggested replanting the trees, and creative alternatives like rain gardens or water-tolerant trees to make the proposed area more visually appealing.

For the residents who live on Dean Drive, their backyards will likely still flood because issues arising from Inness Road will not be addressed.