Flooding woes

Following heavy rains that drenched the region Wednesday night into Thursday, many in Springfield and throughout the area faced flooded yards, basements and roads.

www.themessage.news    

016-02-24 / Front Page Flooding woes Overnight flooding leaves many with cleanup work ALLAN STEIN NANCY A. CAVANAUGH Following heavy rains that drenched the region Wednesday night into Thursday, many throughout the area faced flooded yards, basements and roads. In just 12 hours, more than two inches of rain had fallen across the region, but the city emerged relatively unscathed except for a few flood-prone areas, Sweet said. Enlarge Map Claremont Fire Chief Richard Bergeron said Thursday that firefighters used portable pumps to drain water from the basement of a private home on Arch Road at 1:44 a.m., and another on Roosevelt Road at 4:53 a.m. Bergeron said the basement flooding was measured "in terms of feet" after water had seeped in through the foundations to each home. Fortunately, there was only water damage to personal belongings and no building structural damage, he said. Interim DPW Director Scott Sweet said Thursday that heavy rains washed out a 34-foot section of Cat Hole Road and also scoured away a section of pavement and gravel on Foisy Hill Road. "If you are on a steep hill it is hard to control that amount of water in that short period of time," he said. DPW crews spent most of Thursday mopping up all the loose gravel and debris that had been left behind by the rains. Sweet said the DPW earlier had cleared away leaves and other debris from a number of culverts throughout the city. He said this helped to minimize and even avert flooding in other areas. Otherwise, "we probably would have had more damage than we did," Sweet said. Charlestown had its share of flooding from last night’s rain as well. “We’ve had some problems, the highway department is out addressing issues,” said Selectboard Assistant Administrator David Edkins. “We had some road washouts and culverts overflowed. We also had erosion on some roads. “Like I always said, when you have frozen ground and a lot of water, it has to take the path of least resistance,” he continued. “The fire department has been helping people out. I just got back from one woman’s house that had a lot of water in her basement.” The two farms at the corner of Old Claremont and Hemlock roads both were flooded with several feet of water that appears to have threatened to cross the road but didn’t quite get that high. “We’re always flooded, every spring and in the summer. I guess that’s why the town put a culvert in,” said Polly Frizzell, who owns Peachblow Farm with her husband Bob. “There’s no damage, this has happened before. We got more rain than anticipated. It should drain right down, and if it doesn’t, we’ll do it somehow.” In Springfield, residents faced a few areas where roads that were temporarily closed because they were covered with water, according to Town Manager Tom Yennerell. “There was minor erosion throughout the town,” he said. “Some homes had flooded basements and the fire department helped them out.” The Whitcomb Building, which is owned by the Springfield Housing Authority (SHA), had evacuate seven residents who lived on the first floor due to the flooding. “I’ve been here for 30 years, and this is the first time this has happened,” said Bill Morlock, III, Executive Director of the SHA. “It was a freak thing.” “A culvert on Grove Street got blocked by a piece of wood and the water overflowed then crossed the the to Mineral Street,” he continued. “It affected seven apartments on the first floor. We have moved the tenants out. No one was hurt.” SHA has found other places for the tenants, either in the same building or other locations. A moving company was hired to move the salvageable items to the temporary living quarters. They have already begun the cleanup work. “ServPro is cleaning up the water and after the water dries up we have a construction company to come in and fix the damage,” Morlock said. “It should take two weeks to get back in order. Residents will return to their apartments.” Morlock wasn’t able to estimate how much the damages would cost. SHA will be responsible for the costs for the cleanup, moving and replacement of any of their property that may have been damaged. The personal property of the tenants that were damaged would need to be replaced by the tenants. “We encourage them to get renter’s insurance in case something like this happens,” said Morlock. Stefan Golec, a Bellows Falls Trustee, reported via email that many streets around the Russel Street area were closed due to significant flooding there. “Crews from highway, water, wastewater, fire and police were all out very early,” he said. “I could hear other towns in the twin state area on my two-way radio going to basements filled with water to washouts. “The crews did an awesome job clearing out the storm drains.”