The Inter-Agency Waterway Infrastructure Improvement Task Force will work to confirm the identities of owners of the more than 45 dams that failed or were damaged. It will also determine what sources of financial assistance are available to help owners rebuild dams. It may also recommend when reconstruction may be inappropriate.The estimate of the damage caused by the storm on public infrastructure such as roads, parks and public buildings alone has reached US$24M. The total cost to public and private property could easily exceed US$50M, officials said. The task force will also look at lines of communications among dam owners and municipalities on the night of the storm. Numerous residents were flooded by water released by dams that failed along two tributaries of the Rancocas Creek. During interviews outside the meeting room at the township’s public safety centre, many of them said they never got any notice that dams had broken.
