Flooding is the first plumbing question here
In 2016 the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection opened a cost-shared feasibility study of recurring flooding in Chelsea Heights. The Corps described the study area as about 0.2 square miles of low-lying residential streets bounded by North Albany Avenue, South Boulevard, North Raleigh Avenue and West End Avenue, with flooding that comes from tides combined with heavy rain and is growing more frequent.
A 2022 AFP report said Chelsea Heights streets still flood often. None of this says your house has a problem. It means the useful plumbing questions are about water coming in from outside, equipment sitting low, and what to do when the street is under water. Where the study stands today is a question for the city or the state.
| Situation | Safe first step | Where to read more |
|---|---|---|
| Standing water around the water heater or furnace | Leave the appliance off until it has been checked, and if you smell gas, leave and call the gas utility | Water heater repair |
| Toilets or floor drains gurgle during a high tide or storm | Stop using water and keep away from electrical items | Sewer line cleaning |
| Sump pit is full or the pump is silent | Check the power and the float, then call if it still will not run | Sump pump repair |
| Walls stay damp after the water is gone | Dry the area and look for a leak that is separate from the flood | Leak detection |
Where Chelsea Heights is and where it is not
The city's neighborhood list includes Chelsea Heights, with the Chelsea Heights Civic and Taxpayers Association. Wikipedia places it west of Absecon Island and the Intracoastal Waterway, reached by the Route 40 bridge, and notes that it connects toward Ventnor Heights. Chelsea Heights School serves the neighborhood.
It is not the same as Chelsea, which has its own association and its own page. If your street is on the Ventnor side, the page for Ventnor City may fit better. A cross street on the phone sorts out which applies.
Housing: what is known and what is not
Real estate profile sites describe Chelsea Heights as mostly single-family homes with some small apartment buildings. Wikipedia says most homes were rebuilt over the past 30 to 35 years, but this page could not confirm that against an official source. Do not assume your own house's age or what is inside its walls. A plumber looking at the actual pipes is the only reliable answer.
Worth knowing
Equipment height is a plumbing question
When a water heater is being replaced, it is fair to ask whether the unit can sit higher off the floor, how it will be vented and where the shutoff is. Water heater installation covers planned swaps, and the same questions apply to any appliance that lives on the lowest level.
If your street floods or a drain backs up, call (609) 547-1417 and say what the water is doing.
Call (609) 547-1417Local note
Gas, water and sewer: who to call first
If you smell gas after water has been in the house, leave on foot and call South Jersey Gas at 1-800-582-7060 or 911 before calling a plumber.
The water utility for Atlantic City is ACMUA, (609) 345-3315. Ask the city or ACMUA who owns the sewer main on your block before paying for work on a line that may not be yours.
- Find the main water shutoff and the gas shutoff before the next forecast tide.
- Pour a bucket of water into the sump pit to see whether the pump starts, if you have one.
- Move stored items and cardboard off the floor of the lowest level.
- Keep the phone numbers for the gas utility and ACMUA somewhere you can find them without power.
Plumbing questions in Chelsea Heights
No. They are separate neighborhoods with separate associations on the city's list. Chelsea is covered on its own page: plumber in Chelsea. A cross street helps confirm which one you are in.
For water coming in from the street, the city. For a pump that will not run, a backup in the drains or a damaged water heater, a plumber. If you smell gas, leave first and call the gas utility. Sump pump repair covers the pump side.
A sump pump only helps where a pit or a place to put one exists. Ask a plumber to look at the lowest level and tell you whether a pump fits. If you already have one, sump pump repair is the page to read.
The federal and state feasibility study was opened in 2016. This page could not confirm what came of it, so ask the City of Atlantic City or the state environmental department for the current status.
Confirm with the city or ACMUA at (609) 345-3315. It is not the same on every street, and this page has not verified it for Chelsea Heights.
The Atlantic City plumbing home page lists every service, and the all services page has one page per type of work.