Brick Reservoir A-OK, Officials Say

An earthquake and a hurricane can take a toll on a reservoir, but Brick's facility came out of a round of tests with flying colors, officials said Tuesday.

The reservoir, off Sally Ike Road in the township's Herbertsville section, was closed Tuesday to residents who use the facility as a walking and jogging route. The reservoir was being checked out by engineers who were called in the ensure the facility was structurally sound following two events – the earthquake and the hurricane – in one week.

"Right now, everything's great," said Jim Lacey, director of the Brick Township Municipal Utilities Authority, which runs the reservoir.

Lacey said engineers performed a number of tests Tuesday, which included both a visual inspection and a number of probes which were inserted into the ground to determine structual integrity. The tests all showed the facility was sound, he said.

Additional tests will occur over the course of the next couple of weeks, which will include divers being brought in to inspect the sides of the facility.

By law, Lacey said, the reservoir must be inspected every two years. The next inspection for the site was scheduled to come in September, but officials at the BTMUA decided to move up the timing to ensure everything was alright following the recent wicked weather.

A number of trees and branches remain down at the site, Lacey said, though they are not blocking either of the reservoir's two parking lots - one on Herbertsville Road in Brick and the other on Metedeconk Road in Wall. Sally Ike Road, near the Brick–Wall border, was still blocked by a downed tree at the end of the day Tuesday, blocking traffic between the two towns and, thus, the two ends of the reservoir.

But for Brick – or Wall – residents who want to walk or jog the outline of facility, it will be open as usual Wednesday morning.