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The Great Flood of 1968 and Water Contamination
Days before Memorial Day 1968, heavy rains, later determined to be a “500-year storm,” deluged Kenilworth and surrounding communities resulting in unprecedented flooding in the region and drinking water contamination. The May 29 and 30 flooding forced many Memorial Day ceremonies to be cancelled.
About a foot-and-a-half of water covered the west end of the Boulevard. The creek through the Woods Edge and Kensington Homes developments overflowed causing flood water to enter many homes along its path. The creeks passing under lower So. Michigan Ave. likewise spilled over their courses and homes in that part of the borough were flood damaged.
Former Pembrook Dr. resident Keith Schafer, son of the late Wilbur and Shirley Schafer, was 11 at the time. He recalled (2022), “The rain was the heaviest I ever witnessed. As the water rose my mother called borough hall for help and in no time public works dumped a huge amount of sand near our house. My dad and I began filling sand bags for neighbors who quickly joined in and grabbed what they could to block their back doors which were on the ground level because the houses were split levels. Many suffered damaged. The water came up to our back door but did not get in as our lot was a bit higher than others. Everyone helped one another.”
The flooding was only half of the story. Some residents reported brown water coming from water faucets. Something was amiss. The water company indicated that its testing procedures showed no cause for alarm. Residents began reporting severe gastrointestinal issues. As a precaution the local board of health issued an alert for residents to boil all water for 15 minutes. Susan Thomas Miller, then 23, formerly of Coolidge Dr. remembered (2022) “Cars with loudspeakers went up and down streets warning everyone to boil all water for 15 minutes.” But things were about to change for the worse when cases of infectious hepatitis were reported.
Dr. Edmund Johnkins, board of health president, recognized that the hepatitis issue might be the result of contaminated drinking water. He alerted local and state officials. The NJ Dept. of Health joined in his concern and on short order a 5-town mass vaccination program of gamma globulin serum for all residents and workers in Kenilworth and in large parts of Garwood, Roselle Park, Cranford, and Westfield. These towns received drinking water from massive water company artesian wells west of Dorset Dr. thought to be contaminated. Helping to coordinate the clinics was the borough board of health nurse, Betty Thomas. It was she along with Dr. Johnkins who helped pull together the 5-town undertaking. In Kenilworth the Harding School gym was the clinic site. Volunteers including active and retired nurses in town and Drs. Morse Shephard and Dr. Frederick Apfelbaum, scouts, and Jaycees, joined Dr. Johnkins and Mrs. Thomas to vaccinate thousands. Lines were long outside of the gym as people wended their way through makeshift clinic stations inside. In all, 11,932 shots were given out in Kenilworth during June 19-21 and about 90,000 total in the region.
An investigation by a Citizens Ad Hoc Committee found that the main sanitary sewer trunk line coming down from Springfield erupted during the storm causing sanitary effluent to mix with flood waters and drift south to the well field west of Dorset Dr. The committee suggested that large, open, vertical pipes used for measuring the depth of the well water became conduits for the polluted flood waters to pour into the drinking water in the wells below. The water company made the decision to permanently close those wells and discontinue their use.
Research provided by Walter E. Boright, Ed. D., historian, and Historic Signs, Inc. Sources for this article are the Cranford Chronicle archive, the Ad Hoc Citizens Committee Report, and personal knowledge. Persons with inquiries about this article or other aspects of Kenilworth history may contact Dr. Boright at drbori@aol.com or 908-256-5200.
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