With storms causing major damage across Connecticut, mayors and first selectmen are taking additional steps to better prepare for the rainstorms that have been increasing in frequency.
The Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, which represents cities and towns, unveiled a new report Tuesday that included numerous recommendations, including improving the sometimes-dated flood hazard maps from the federal government. The maps have been helpful in the past, but officials called for improving the maps “to reflect actual flood risk more accurately for municipalities and property owners” through “more frequent updates.”
The study recommends that towns should “promote flood insurance coverage and other flood risk reduction strategies for properties” outside the designated flooding areas.
Once considered mainly a problem for towns like East Haven and Milford along Long Island Sound, the storms have become more unpredictable and have moved inland as businesses and residents have seen flooding in areas at levels not seen in 50 years or more.
Starting with Super Storm Sandy in 2012, the report mentioned coastal storms like Irene, Isaias, Elsa, Fred, Henri, and Ida, along with the inland flooding in rivers in August, that “have caused significant damage and disruption to communities in urban and rural areas, and in coastal and inland settings. These types of extreme events have increased in frequency and intensity, making this issue a top priority for municipal officials and the public.”
A prominent example came in mid-August in Seymour and nearby towns, which suffered from a 1,000-year storm and prompted residents to say it was worse than the devastating storm of August 1955.
While estimates are still being calculated, local officials said there could be as much as $100 million in damages for roads, businesses, and homes in Oxford, Southbury, and Seymour.
The unexpected storm caused heavy damage at the Klarides Village shopping plaza in Seymour, where 15 stores were flooded and knocked out of business by a raging storm Aug. 18 that dumped as much as 16 inches of rain in mere hours on Oxford and surrounding towns. In the worst cases, a liquor store, nail salon, coin shop, UPS store, Hallmark Cards, and the Route 67 Family Diner in the shopping plaza were completely flooded.
Several shops had at least 6 feet of water inside, and the package store had an estimated $500,000 to $750,000 worth of liquor bottles that were either floating, smashed or covered with thick mud. The water went as high as the roof at the liquor store, where the owners wore white hazmat suits during the extensive clean up.
Top state and local officials have visited the plaza since the flooding as Gov. Ned Lamont announced in mid-August that the state would quickly provide grants up to $25,000 for as many as 200 small businesses that were damaged in Seymour, Oxford, Southbury, and beyond. The atmosphere at the plaza after the flooding was initially like a funeral, but it turned to hope as the shop owners vowed to rebuild.
Recommendations
Entitled “Strategic Flooding Mitigation for Connecticut: Challenges and Solutions,” the report looked at the current flood management practices in an effort to project the needs in the future.
A key component is funding. The report calls for using state funds to help towns when they need to provide a match in order to obtain federal grants. In addition, the report, compiled with the assistance of the Fuss & O’Neill engineering firm, called for increasing money for the Climate Resilience Fund under the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, as well as streamlining the application process for that fund. The municipalities, the report says, need state grants “to replace undersized and degraded culverts.”
Stratford Mayor Laura Hoydick, a former state legislator who serves as CCM board president, said the report provides key solutions.
“Flooding poses a serious threat to our communities, and this report provides us with a roadmap to address these challenges effectively,” Hoydick said. “By working with Fuss & O’Neill, we’ve gained invaluable insights that will help us protect our residents, safeguard our infrastructure, and ensure sustainable growth across Connecticut.”
Besides seeking money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, known as FEMA, for major storms, the towns also are interested in additional funding, according to the report.
“Approximately 40% to 50% of the surveyed municipalities expressed interest in other
sources of funding or financial assistance” that could include the State Bond Commission, municipal bonds and the Connecticut Green Bank, among others, the report said. “A little over a third (37%) of surveyed municipalities expressed interest in storm water authorities/utilities to address flooding, with roughly equal interest by small and large municipalities.”
Christopher Keating can be reached at [email protected]
