Report blames debris for Upper East Side floods
BRIDGEPORT — Debris buildup around a detention pond and to a culvert on General Electric property was blamed for the flooding on the the city’s Upper East Side during two storms four days apart that caused tens of thousands of dollars in damage to homes.
City Engineer John Urquidi made the findings in a 10-page report released early Monday evening. The report is available on the city’s website.
“We will be following up tomorrow (Tuesday) with residents who we know were impacted,” said Rowena White, Mayor Joseph Ganim’s communications director.
The report was released a day after 24 Upper East Side residents, led by City Councilwoman Maria Pereira, gathered on Texas Avenue in the rain and demanded to see it; Pereira said she first requested the report on Aug. 6.
“There was damage to homes from Minnesota Avenue to the Dairy Queen on East Main Street,” Pereira said Sunday. “These people want answers. They need help in being compensated for the massive damage they experienced twice in four days.”
Pereira repeatedly requested the release of the report in a thread of emails to Urquidi. She said it was originally promised on Aug. 6 but delayed because he said it had to be “authorized by director levels who are reviewing” it.
“These repeated delays are simply not acceptable,” Pereira said in an Aug. 14 email to Urquidi.
On Sunday, upset neighbors said they were looking for compensation from the city for their repair bills for storms that hit June 30 and July 3.
“I’ve got several hundred fami
lies lined up,” Sonia Kirkland said Sunday. “We have spoken to a lawyer, we will hire an engineer and if necessary, take the city to court.”
Kirkland said she maxed out her credit cards paying for damage caused to her Ohio Avenue basement during both storms. She said the July 3 flood also damaged equipment left in her basement by contractors working to repair water damage from the June 30 downpour.
Kirkland claims her home repair bills total $27,000.
Pereira said she would call a community meeting this week to discuss the report, which details some of the reasons why the heavy downpours flooded the neighborhood.
“I would like to know when was the last time WPCA or Public Facilities inspected these sites prior to the flooding,” she said. “The blockage sites are directly above all the streets that were flooded. It’s pretty clear no one has been doing
a monthly inspection of these sites.”
According to the report, after the storms, the city inspected 10 specific sites beginning with storm sewers on the impacted streets all the way to the open channel from Boston Avenue to Barnum Avenue that discharges into the Yellow Mill River.
Debris blockages were discovered at sites halfway into the investigation: Cut logs, rusted metal barrels, used tires, tree limbs, clumps of leaves and more were found at the headwall entry to the General Electric property culvert and at the man-made detention pond downstream of the Transfer Station on Asylum Street, the report states.
Urquidi said the debris near the GE property was cleared by a contractor with help from city workers.
A short distance away, more cut logs and debris were found wedged against an outfall pipe at the detention pond.
“Once this was removed ... the flow was greatly increased downstream,” Urquidi wrote. “These two areas seem to have been the
source of the issue. In both cases it was impossible to identify where the debris came from . ... The condition of the logs having been cut represents that they likely (were) cut and either thrown in or deposited adjacent to the stream and (water) flow drove them to this location.”’
“Based on the inspections performed ... it is the Public Facilities Department and Engineering Department’s opinions after coordination of the WPCA that the blockages in (these sections) were the root cause of the flooding conditions in the Nob Hill area,” Urquidi wrote.
Several residents told the Connecticut Post they have not experienced flooding since the debris was removed July 20. Residents did, however, report damage to their homes and property before that.
Among those who appeared at Sunday’s rally were Jean Joseph of Horace Street, who has an estimate for $8,500 in repairs to his basement; Barbara Verner, who lives in the Eastwood Condominiums and is out $9,000 after two of her parked cars were declared total losses because of water damage; Cynthia and Bernard Nesmeth of
Asylum Street, whose basement still smells after being flooded twice, and Janet Blank of Louisiana Avenue, who is out $900 for replacing a water heater.
“This never happened before in the 30 years we lived here,” said Cynthia Nesmeth. “We’ve had plenty of downpours in that time and never anything like this. Our washing machine is raised and the water came up to the crates. Thank God it didn’t go any higher.”
“In my opinion, it is clear the city did not inspect and maintain their man-made detention pond,” Pereira said. “They made it. They created it. Therefore they are liable to the impoverished and hardworking middle-class residents who did absolutely nothing wrong except incur property damage and financial loss due to the city’s failure to maintain the detention pond. They need to made full restitution to those homeowners and tenants.”
Urquidi said preventative steps must be taken to prevent debris buildup from happening again, including:
WPCA monitoring the area and conducting periodic catch basin and line cleaning as well as inspecting outfalls along the Remington property.
The city making periodic inspections of its culverts along roadways, within the transfer station property as well as monthly inspections, particularly before a storm event, of the detention pond and locations where the debris was found.
General Electric conducting inspections of their culvert and hire a contractor to clear away overgrowth along the culvert’s inlet and outfall and have a contractor on call to remove debris quickly.
Doing a review and site visit of Remington Woods to identify any issues, which, if discovered, would be brought to the attention of Dupont,which owns the property.
Urquidi said letters will be sent to all property owners and for properties that abut the sites telling them they are responsible to keep the water channel open and remove any debris.
“Property owners should remain vigilant of someone unlawfully depositing anything in the channel. Catch basins should remain clear of organic buildup and trash,” he said.