A charter bus plowed through floodwaters on Route 38 in Cherry Hill on Monday, Aug. 3, when one driver became stranded and had to be pulled from the water by police.

It was the third time since early July that flooding overwhelmed storm drains and shut down major corridors across Camden County.

Camden County Commissioner Al Dyer, the board's liaison to the Department of Public Works, said drain maintenance has become a standing priority since severe flooding hit the county in early July.

"That's a constant thing that we have to do because you get storms that are not as severe, but you still get twigs and branches that pile up and build up in the inlets," Dyer told 6abc on Aug. 3. "That's why we have our crews out there doing what they're doing to make sure, if it is coming, we can do our best to make sure we have the water recede as quickly as possible."

Route 38 reopened after street sweepers removed debris and road crews cleared the drains. Route 130 in Pennsauken experienced similar closures the same morning, according to NJ.com.

Sewage in basements

At least six homes on 44th Street in Pennsauken reported sewer water backing up through basement drains and toilets. Pennsauken resident Astor DeGuzman described the backup as "sewage water coming in reverse pumping into the house versus going out to the sewage drains." Residents on the block said utility work currently underway on their street may have contributed to the problem, noting they had not experienced similar backups before the construction began.

Three floods since July 6

Monday's storm was the latest in a string of flooding events across Camden County this summer. On July 6, nearly 3 inches of rain fell in one hour, triggering more than 40 water rescues countywide and closing Admiral Wilson Boulevard in Camden, Fox 29 reported. Three days later, on July 9, another round of heavy rain closed portions of Route 38 in Maple Shade and Route 130 in Pennsauken, according to the Courier-Post.

$400 million referendum looms

The recurring flooding adds urgency to a question Cherry Hill voters will face on Tuesday, Nov. 3: whether to approve a 1-cent increase in Camden County's open-space and water-quality tax, from 2 cents to 3 cents per $100 of assessed value, to fund a $400 million infrastructure initiative. As we reported July 31, the plan would direct $200 million toward reducing combined sewer overflow, $50 million to repair leaking sewer systems, $75 million for dredging, $50 million to clean recreational lakes, and $25 million for green infrastructure like rain gardens.

The initiative specifically includes separating Pennsauken's combined sewer into two flows, sanitary and storm, which county officials say would reduce the kind of basement backups residents reported on Aug. 3.

Commissioner Jeffrey Nash, in a July 30 interview with South Jersey Media, said he believes the referendum will pass. At the initiative's announcement in mid-July, Nash said flooding "impacts every business, every homeowner, everyone who's trying to get to work," according to WHYY.

County officials have not announced a specific timeline for drain maintenance improvements before the next storm. The Nov. 3 vote is the next milestone: if approved, the county would be authorized to borrow from the state's water bank to begin the 10-year project.