Sandy shuts down Bristol schools for two days

Bristol schools will be closed Monday and Tuesday.

Superintendent Ellen Solek decided Sunday morning that forecasts justified the closure of the schools for two days.

The city plans to open its emergency shelter at Chippens Hill Middle School at noon Monday.

Mayor Art Ward said Sunday that he intends to open an emergency operations center at 9 a.m. Monday to coordinate Bristol's response to Hurricane Sandy. The shelter would open three hours later, he said.

Ward said that he expects heavy winds to start Sunday night and to see a prolonged storm during the next couple of days that could bring power outages, flooding and other woes.

Chippens Hill Middle School

Ward said that plans could shift if there is new information about the storm. He said city crews are getting ready to cope with the problems they anticipate after seeing what happened during several major storms a year, including the pre-Halloween snowstorm that knocked out power for many residents for as long as a week and a half.

Ward said one thing he won't do this year is declare Halloween cancelled.

If that happens, he said, it's going to be Solek's call. It's a school night after all, the mayor said.

Anyone who thinks they may need to use the city's emergency shelter should make preparations ahead of time.

If it's possible, bring clothing, bedding, sanitary supplies and other necessities. It's especially important to bring medications, oxygen and other critical health-related supplies that are not available at the shelter, officials said. The shelter will have cots, food and water. 

The city's backup shelter, at the Beals Senior-Community Center on Stafford Avenue, is not available this month because of ongoing construction there. Only Chippens Hill Middle School is ready to handle residents seeking shelter.

One thing that officials hope people will do to help themselves is to clear leaves and debris from storm drains. That will allow storm water to flow off the roads and prevent some flooding and keep streets open that might otherwise be unavailable.

They also urge residents to check on elderly and frail neighbors if the storm gets bad. They may need help.

Copyright 2012. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Wyman, Blumenthal eyeball Bristol

Two of the state’s most prominent politicians came to Bristol on Wednesday to see for themselves the damage caused by Tropical Storm Irene.
Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal each vowed to seek help for battered Bristol.
Blumenthal said he will be “fighting for Connecticut, fighting for Bristol” to make sure the Federal Emergency Management Agency provides the assistance and funding necessary to deal with the devastation caused by the storm.
Several FEMA officials have been in town this week to assess damages and advise the city on how best to seek reimbursement.
City officials said they anticipate that a large amount of federal money will ultimately flow to Bristol but only after a staggering amount of paperwork is completed.  Click here to read the whole story.
Copyright 2011. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Farrell Avenue collapse could cost $2 million

At the height of Sunday’s storm, a big chunk of Farrell Avenue collapsed into a ravine, causing about 50 feet of the roadway to vanish down the hill.

City officials are still trying to figure out what happened and how to fix it, but they are already sure that repairing the damage will cost $2 million or more.

Standing on the edge of the precipice with U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal Wednesday, Mayor Art Ward said, "That’s what you call a sinkhole."

"That’s what you call a disaster," Blumenthal responded.

He said that a picture of the collapsed roadway will be "exhibit A" in making the case for federal aid.

"This speaks volumes about the force and the fury of the storm," Blumenthal said.  See the whole story.

Copyright 2011. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Flooding woes not political issue, Werner says

Former Mayor Mike Werner sent me a note about the flooding problem. Here's what he had to say:

Politics really doesn't play a role in this.  There was a study done back when I was Mayor on the entire watershed.  I forgot who did it.  It was started before me.  I do remember being briefed on it.  Nothing has changed since then; there's no need for a new study.  No one wants to say it, but the problems are too numerous and too costly to address, so they look for another study to tell them the same thing, but it will take everyone's mind off the problem until the next flood. 

Back in the 80's, the Wetlands agency set strict standards for new development, so the fear of any new runoff is unfounded.  They have a zero runnoff policy.  I know because I lost two building lots a few years ago when I subdivided a piece of land on Miller Road.  I had to use the extra land to design an underground detention sytem to keep any additional water from running into the little brook on the property. The upshot is that there really has been no new runoff to any of the waterways in Bristol for several years, at least not as a result of any legal development.

The problems with our waterways are just too expensive to fix, because you have to fix everything to have an impact.  A fix in one area creates a problem in another.  To really fix the problem, you'll have to purchase hundreds of privately owned properties.  Some of the things property owners were allowed to do back in the 50's and 60's would never be allowed today, and they'd have to be remedied at great cost.  Just look at Frederick Street.  No natural brook takes ninety degree turns the way it does behing the body shop and on toward Theiss Steel.  But to fix it, you'd have to buy that property, and several others, and make the brook straight.  Now you create a problem for someone downstream, and you have to fix his problem, and so on.  This is just one example of many.  There are similar problems with every waterway in town and they all interconnect.  Unless you start at the Pequabuck and work your way through every stream that empties into it, you will cause more problems than you started with.  I don't know what the legal liability would be if the City created a flooding problem for someone who never had one before, but I'd guess it would be significant.  They could end up buying dozens of homes and businesses just by the law of unitended consequences.

All along Mine Brook there are areas where homeowners or businesses filled in parts of the brook to keep it from flooding their back yard or to give themselves more property.  I was a kid when St Gregory Church was built.  Their parking lot added a lot of water to Mine Brook where we used to fish.  St Paul's High School, built many years later added even more.  As a result of this and other things, the bridge on Rt 6 by Dunkin Donuts, which used to be adequate, is undersized. Again, most of this was done decades ago.  The same can be said for the brook that flows down from Terryville (can't think of the name now) along Rt 6 and into the Pequabuck down by the intersection of Clarke Ave and Rt 72.  That brook has a few ninety degree turns that aren't natural.  You also have problems with the brook that flows down from Withces Rock Road down Peck Ln and under Divinity Street.  That has a host of problems.  The brook that runs down from East Rd to Union Street also is a problem.  And on and on.  Almost every stream in town has been tampered with over the years by abutting property owners. These brooks and streams all flow into the Pequabuck.  If you make them all flow better, the Pequabuck will get more water faster and will flood more readily.  How do you deal with the inadequate bridge in Forestville?  You have to buy Nuchies and that whole block, and build a proper bridge.  Again, all along the Pequabuck are buildings that were built too close, property owners who filled in parts of the river and made it flow in an unnatural way, etc.   And much of this was done before you or I were born.  A lot of it was done in the 1800's. To correct it would cost tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars. Also, if we get our watershed to run smoothly, what problems will we create for the people of Plainville?

It would be nice to say that there is an easy solution to this.  There is a solution, but the cost is prohibitive.  The city really took some serious steps years ago (after I left office, I can't take any credit) to alleviate runoff.  The Planning Board and Wetlands Agency take this stuff seriously.  Unfortunately, the city learned too late, so they have to do the best they can with what they have. People who live or run businesses in flood prone areas just have to realize that they will get flooded from time to time. 

Copyright 2011. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Community tackles hurricane cleanup

Tulip Street during the storm
Photo by Ken Cockayne, used with permission

The mess created by Tropical Storm Irene is going to take many days to clean up.
When the gushing water that flowed through low-lying sections of town Sunday dried up, it left behind a sea of sand, piles of debris and one wrecked building that city officials ordered demolished within 48 hours.
Mayor Art Ward said there’s “a little despair” among some drenched homeowners and soaked businesses, “but everybody’s got that can-do attitude” required to tackle the massive cleanup.
“We’ll do what we have to do and put the community back together again,” Ward said Monday. Click here for the rest of the story.

Former Stately Floors building, during the flood
Photo by Ken Cockayne, used with permission.

Also see: The former Stately Floors building must be torn down. Below are a couple of pictures that Christopher MacNeill took of the place, used with permission.

Copyright 2011. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Larson still seeks flood control money for Bristol

U.S. Rep. John Larson, the East Hartford Democrat whose district includes Bristol, explains what happened to his effort to secure federal funding for a study of how best to deal with flooding in Bristol:



Copyright 2011. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

City vowed to help with flooding, but didn't

Flooding at Rockwell Park.
Photo by Christopher MacNeill, used with permission.

BRISTOL – There’s a simple reason why there’s so much flooding along the Pequabuck River and Copper Mine Brook whenever a heavy rain hits: there’s no place for all the water to go.

All of the rain that falls on Bristol, much of Burlington and big parts of both Plymouth and Harwinton winds up pouring into those two relatively small streams.

Thanks to unchecked development over many years, which turned open space into pavement, the water that falls tends to flow downhill quickly into already strained streams that soon become raging torrents that flow down city streets and through residents’ basements.

It makes for a costly, discouraging mess every time it happens. This year, it also proved deadly, with Hurricane Irene’s floodwaters carrying one man off to his doom.

But after a spate of four major floods between 2004 and 2007, the city vowed to take action.

Officials discovered that the City Council was responsible for dealing with flooding in Bristol and it moved to hold special sessions monthly to tackle the issue.

But about the time Mayor Art Ward took office in 2007, the momentum stalled for the same reason government often drags to a halt: money.  Click here for the rest of the story.

Also, the missing canoer has been found dead.

Copyright 2011. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Canoe flips in Forestville, one or two missing

Witnesses in Forestville say a canoe flipped and dumped two people into the water. They are missing.


More details soon.Update: Bristol, CT Fire Dept. page on Facebook has this: "Update-Rescue in progress in Forestville overtuned canoe 2 people swept away 1 person is ok the other is unaccounted for! Bristol Fire is on scene with Plainville fire just happend!"
New update: It appears only one man is missing.CJ Tyler of Bristol said he saw a canoe slam into the bridge beside Nuchies restaurant in Forestville, dumping the men inside into the raging waters. One apparently dragged himself out while the other is missing."It was crazy," Tyler said on his Facebook page.
*****Copyright 2011. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Bristol Police: Stay home, everybody!

Message from Bristol Police Department:


HURRICANE IRENE REMINDER - Please limit your travels throughout the city. Many intersections are closed, wires & trees down. Many dangerous spots throughout city. Avoid walking in damaged sections taking photos. Chippens Hill Middle School is the designated shelter. Do not drive through standing water. 911 - Emergencies only! Stay Safe.

Farrell Avenue, off Barlow Street
Photo by Michele Woike Zipke, used with permission

*****Copyright 2011. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

More Photos of Bristol Flooding

Frederick Street bridge area
Photo by Craig Minor, used with permission.

Laura Minor just sent a brief report from Forestville:"The Copper Mine Brook has flooded and is covering Frederick and West Washington. Houses are ruined two blocks from us. There is no way to get from our side of town through to downtown Bristol easily. Forestviille Center is flooded also as is Mix St./Rte. 6. I've never seen anything like this. Water is rising and the wind is strong. We watched a big branch go down which luckily didn't hit anything." 
Brenda Martin took photos all over town that really capture some of the flooding woes. Here they are:

Also see this video someone posted on YouTube:


Also see the previous links:FloodingMore flooding
Copyright 2011. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

More flooding in Bristol (updated)

Middle Street at Riverside Avenue.
Photo by Vanessa Larence, used with permission.

BRISTOL -- Much of Bristol is underwater today.
From Muzzy Field to Forestville Center, the Pequabuck River has claimed a new, wider course that takes it down city streets, through buildings and beyond.
The rain falling from Hurricane Irene has swollen the river and inundated dozens of cars, partially destroyed the Stately Floors building at the end of Memorial Boulevard and soaked countless basements.
Copper Mine Brook and other tributaries are also overflowing their banks, creating torrents all over town. Police have closed a number of city streets, making it difficult to get around, and emergency crews are working in many locations to deal with downed wires, stranded residents and the chaos of a major storm.
Please check this link for pictures and video.

Here are some more photos by Vanessa Lawrence:

Flooded Farmington Avenue intersection near Staples.

Memorial Boulevard

Broad Street

TERRYVILLE -- Rising water has breached Preston Dam, as the picture below by Ryan Woike makes clear:

Here are some photos by Aaron Vontell of the area near the west end of Memorial Boulevard:

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Copyright 2011. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Hurricane causes major flooding in Bristol

 Video of flooding in Forestville Center by Alisha Lee Yard, who shared it on YouTube. 

Photo in Forestville by Kim Keegan, used with permission.

To nobody's surprise, the heavy rains caused by Hurricane Irene have caused significant flooding in low-lying parts of Bristol.Memorial Boulevard "is like a river," said Henry Raymond, and the school playing field there reminds him of a lake.

Forestville Center.
Photo by Joe Mudry, used with permission.

East Main Street is under 4 feet of water. Police have ordered residents to evacuate.Stately Floors, which was getting hammered by water this morning, has partially collapsed. It sits astride the Pequabuck River on the western end of Memorial Boulevard.One fifth of the city's 29,439 customer of Connecticut Light & Power are without electricity this morning, according to the utility.Flooding is heavy in all of the areas of town that traditionally experience problems during heavy storms, including Forestville, the area from Brook Street north toward the Little League complex on Mix Street and along the Copper Mine Brook.But residents report they can still get around.Raymond managed to get out for breakfast at Crystal's, which he said he was glad to find open.

Water flowing through the parking lot at Staples on Route 6.
Photo by Ashley Elizabeth. Used with permission. 

Sue Roesch said there are lots of branches and leaves down on Federal Hill, but the damage doesn't compare to Hurricane Bob two decades ago."This is pretty mild compared to that," Roesch said.Raymond took a tour of some of the troubled areas. Here are some photographs he took this morning:

The Stately Floors building at the western end of Memorial Boulevard.

A shed on Frederick Street.

Memorial Boulevard area.

The walkway at Napco on Riverside Avenue.

Forestville Center.

Car inundated on Frederick Street. 

Car inundated on Frederick Street. 

Forestville Center

Parking lot between Memorial Boulevard School and the parkway.

Tree down in Bristol. Photo by Jazzya Rivera, used with  permission.

Here's a link to some more flooding video in Bristol. 
Channel 3 days a dam in Terryville has been breached.
For more on the flooding, please see www.BristolPress.com
Copyright 2011. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Larson: Trying to get money for flood control

The city's anti-flooding effort has been more or less on hold while waiting for approval for federal funding of what's needed to help control the water during heavy rains.

U.S. Rep. John Larson, an East Hartford Democrat whose 1st District includes Bristol, said today that he's "working on it."

Larson said that the money should be included in the next appropriations bill.

"We hope that will be approved," said Larson. "I don't see any reason why it won't."

Larson said it's his job to round up the cash sought by Bristol and other towns in his district.

The study, if funded, would be done by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

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Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

City braces for possible flooding

Though Danny is faltering over colder water offshore, the weakening tropical storm is still expected to dump a lot of rain on Connecticut before it moves on.
To prepare for the potential flooding, city officials are handing out sandbags, priming pumps and making sure that equipment is ready to roll in case it’s needed.
“Everybody’s going over checklists,” Mayor Art Ward said Friday.
With forecasters predicting periods of heavy rain, residents in flood-prone sections of the city – particularly along Copper Mine Brook – are hoping the water doesn’t rise too much this time.
Officials announced Friday that sandbags were available at firehouses on Mix Street and Vincent P. Kelly Road. The latter also had sand piled outside the neighboring animal shelter.
Some residents were taking advantage the opportunity, officials said. Ward said many just want a few bags to block off doors that can let water flow in if creeks rise outside.
The first bouts of heavy rain began falling Friday. The rain is expected continue into Saturday, making for a potentially soggy end to August.
The threat of rain led officials to cancel a number of events this weekend, including a major community health rally at Rockwell Park.
Though flooding hasn’t been too bad the last couple of years, there were at least four serous floods in Bristol between 2004 and 2007.
The main cause, experts have said, is that open space is vanishing, creating fewer places to sop up the water and speeding its flow downstream into creeks that never had to handle so much flow in decades past.
Ward has asked U.S. Rep. John Larson, the East Hartford Democrat whose 1st District includes Bristol, to try to secure federal money and help for Bristol’s flooding problems. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has already indicated it may be able to help.
Ward said Friday the city is waiting on word about federal funding for a $350,000 study to pinpoint what it needs to do.

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Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

City has sandbags ready for storm

Press release from the mayor's office:

* * * In anticipation of the forecast of heavy rains, the City has provided access to a sufficient supply of sand and sand bags.* * *

Firehouse #4 [Mix Street] has an ample supply of sand bags;

Firehouse #5 [Vincent P. Kelly Road] has sand bags; and there is an ample supply of sand stockpiled outside the dog pound on Vincent P. Kelly Road.

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Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Frederick Street bridge slated for replacement

The best way to combat flooding in the Frederick Street area isn’t to straighten out the Copper Mine Brook’s meandering channel, as the city has long planned.

Instead, experts who are looking into the problem have determined that replacing the century-old bridge on Frederick Street would do more to relieve flooding.

As a result, city councilors recently backed a contractual change with the Cheshire-based Milone & MacBroom engineering consulting firm to switch its attention from redesigning the stream channel to coming up with a plan for a new bridge.

The Frederick Street Bridge is one of a dozen Connecticut spans that’s been rated in “criticial” condition and was closed for a month in 2007 for emergency repairs on its foundation so officials have long expected they would replace it.

Now, though, they’ve learned that putting up a wider, slightly higher span in its place is also the best thing they can do to combat flooding on the lower section of the Copper Mine Brook, which has had several serious floods in the past five years.

Large sections of the creek and its tributaries overflow during heavy rains, inundating basements, washing over streets and causing significant damage. Frederick Street has had to be evacuated at times because of the quantity of water.

Realigning the S-curve just north of the bridge, as the city had anticipated it would try, would not help with flooding and might even raise the water level behind the bridge, according to a January memorandum from Milone & MacBroom to a city engineer.

It isn’t clear just how much a new bridge would help with flood control either, but the consultants said it should provide some benefit.

However, they added in the memo, “the effectiveness of anything done at the crossing itself will be limited due to the tailwater effects of the Pequabuck River” just downstream.

What happens, in a nutshell, is that water pouring down the Copper Mine Brook during heavy rains runs smack into a swollen Pequabuck near Theis Precision Steel and begins to back up across Frederick Street and into homes.

There are many complicating factors, from poorly placed drains to small berms, but the problem that fundamentally afflicts the low-lying area is that there is nowhere for the water to go.

The change in the contract with Milone & MacBroom won’t cost taxpayers anything extra because it’s doing the same amount of work, just on something different than expected.

The firm is receiving more than $200,000 to study flood relief measures along the length of the brook. It issued a preliminary report several months ago.

Other flood control projects in the works

Stream channel improvements in Richard Court area

Construction of watershed storage along the brook

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Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Coppermine flooding meeting on October 2nd

Press release from the city's public works department:

NOTICE

PUBLIC INFORMATION MEETING

Coppermine Brook Drainage Study

The City of Bristol announced in April 2008 that it would be conducting a study of the Coppermine Brook watershed area. The City recently received the completed Coppermine Brook Drainage Evaluation report from its consultant. The purpose of the study was to analyze storm water flow during rain events in order to identify potential solutions that will mitigate flooding along the brook and within the watershed area.

Mayor Arthur J. Ward has requested a public information meeting to be held at the time and date indicated below to discuss the study and findings.

Coppermine Brook Drainage Study - Public Information Meeting

Date Thursday, October 2, 2008

Place: City Hall – Council Chambers

111 North Main Street

Bristol CT

Time: 6:30 PM

Interested parties may view the report at Public Works (111 North Main Street), the Bristol Public Library (5 Main Street), or at the Manross Library (260 Central Street). An executive summary of the report is available on the public works web site at www.ci.bristol.ct.us/publicworks under News and Information.

If you are unable to attend and have any questions please feel free to contact the City of Bristol Engineering Department at 584-6297.

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Coppermine Brook report ready

Press release from public works:

The City of Bristol announced in April 2008 that it would be conducting a study of the Coppermine Brook watershed area. The City recently received the completed Coppermine Brook Drainage Evaluation report from its consultant. The purpose of the study was to analyze storm water flow during rain events in order to identify potential solutions that will mitigate flooding along the brook and within the watershed area.

A public information meeting will be held in the near future to discuss the report and address concerns.

Interested parties may view the report at Public Works (111 North Main Street), the Bristol Public Library (5 Main Street), or at the Manross Library (260 Central Street). An executive summary of the report is available on the public works web site at www.ci.bristol.ct.us/publicworks under News and Information.

Here are the recommendations at the end of the report:

It is absolutely critical that residents and town officials alike recognize that it will not be possible to stop all flooding of structures along Coppermine Brook. The recommendations herein are expected, however, to decrease the severity and frequency of flooding.
Based on the work completed we recommend the following:
1. Pursue the construction of watershed storage areas. The hydrologic analysis
indicated that upstream storage could be very effective at reducing downstream flow
rates. We recommend that the area identified between Maltby Street and Stevens Street
be pursued first. This is because the area appears generally to be upland and state and
federal regulators frown on the use of existing wetlands for flood storage. In other
words, we think this will be the easiest area to obtain permits for construction. Design
and permitting of this basin is expected to be on the order of $50,000 to $75,000
depending on the level of permitting required.
2. Manage flooding at Richards Court through dike improvements, sealing the existing
storm drain through the dike, and channel improvements downstream of Stevens
Street Bridge. The problems at Richards Court are caused by a number of issues.
Regardless of the improvements that are made as a result of this study, the fact remains
that this neighborhood sits atop what was once mapped as floodplain soils. The issues
here are compounded by the fact that much of the improvements suggested are on private
property. The exception is the downstream channel improvements, which would occur
on property we believe to be owned by the City of New Britain. It is not clear what
obligation the City has to repair to former dike, which is located on private property.
Design and permitting of this work is expected to be on the order of $70,000 to $100,000
depending on the level of permitting required and the final solution selected for the
drainage pipe at 72 Richards Court.
3. Make improvements near Farmington Avenue. Flooding at and upstream of
Farmington Avenue is occurring because of floodplain construction and development,
and high tailwater along the low gradient channel. Bridge improvements alone cannot
solve flood hazards, but the combination of removing the private driveway bridge
supplemented by channel improvements may provide some benefit. As with the
improvements at Richards Court, both of these recommendations involve work on private
property. Modification of the Farmington Avenue bridge is not suggested at this time as
this is clearly not the responsibility of the City. That being said, once the upstream
channel improvements suggested herein are completed, the City may choose to discuss
Farmington Avenue with the DOT. Design and permitting of this work is expected to be
on the order of $35,000 to $45,000 depending on the level of permitting required.
4. Make improvements at Frederick Street. The Frederick Street area is subject to
flooding and erosion due to riverine sources, bridge construction, and Pequabuck River

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Maple End flood control project on tap

An $8.2 million drainage improvement project along Route 6 is likely to gain approval from the State Bond Commission this month.
At least most of the money is earmarked to replace a massive culvert between Burlington Avenue and the Northside Square shopping center on North Main Street.
“That’s been on the table a long time,” said Mayor Art Ward. “That will be great to get that cleaned up.”
Gov. Jodi Rell announced Wednesday that $8.2 million in funding for the Route 6 drainage improvements will be on the March 28 bond commission agenda. Almost everything that reaches the bond panel is approved.
“This investment will make Route 6 a safer road,” Rell said in a prepared statement. “Fixing the drainage problems on Route 6 in Bristol will not only help in preventing accidents on that stretch but will also benefit businesses in the area.”
According to plans that have been on file with the city’s public works department since 2006, the state plans to intercept water along the railroad tracks beside the Whole Donut shop and funnel it into a new culvert, which would also capture other water in the area.
The new culvert would cross the tracks and generally follow Route 6 to the west before cutting under the state road in front Best Cleaners and connecting to another culvert at Northside Square.
Many related improvements are also shown on the plans.
“It’ll be a big improvement,” said City Engineer Paul Strawderman.
Though officials warn the area will be a mess during construction, they say that once it’s done, businesses, residents and motorists will benefit from a safer, dryer road.
Ward said that flood control projects in nearby neighborhoods have been on hold for years until the state could fix the Maple End flooding woes.
Once the state work is done, he said, the city can begin to address other concerns in the vicinity.


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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Flooding studies in the works

The city is taking steps to combat flooding along Copper Mine Brook.
The Cheshire-based Milone & MacBroom engineering consulting firm is likely getting more than $200,000 to study the brook’s watershed, outline possible solutions to its flooding problems and figure out how to realign the stream near Frederick Street.
The intent, said Mayor Art Ward, is “to identify areas that need correction to address flooding concerns” along the length of the brook, which flows from Burlington to the Pequabuck River near Theis Precision Steel.
Large sections of the creek and its tributaries overflow during heavy rains, inundating basements, washing over streets and causing significant damage.
The study is only a small step toward what is likely to prove a multi-million project that will take place over the course of years, perhaps with federal government aid.
“I wish it could all be done yesterday,” Ward said, but it will take time.
He said the city wiill seek all the aid wherever it can get it to try to ease the impact on property taxpayers.
According to a recent memorandum from Public Works Director Walter Veselka to the mayor, the study “will model existing conditions, predict future conditions and outline possible solutions to Bristol’s flooding problems” along the brook. That will cost about $66,000.
The firm also needs to do another $66,000 worth of field work and mapping to supplement the basic study.
The consultant also needs $81,000 to analyze how best to realign the S-curve in the brook just north of the Frederick Street Bridge, where flooding occurs frequently.
City officials, who have become increasingly attentive to the flooding problem during the last couple of years, have said the main problem is that open space is vanishing, creating fewer places to sop up the water and speeding its flow downstream into creeks that never had to handle so much flow in decades past.
The last major flooding occurred in April 2007, but there were at least three other serious flooding episodes in the two years before that.
Ward has asked U.S. Rep. John Larson, the East Hartford Democrat whose 1st District includes Bristol, to try to secure federal money and help for Bristol’s flooding problems. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has already indicated it may be able to help, but not in the short run.
The City Council has been meeting regularly in its role as the city’s Flood and Erosion Control Committee to keep the issue on the front burner.
Officials said the studies by Milone & MacBroom are needed to gather the background facts needed to begin figuring out what could be done to help stop future storms from causing so much disruption and loss.

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com