Yantic River towns, SCCOG begin discussing flood prevention ideas
Feb. 7—NORWICH — One month after Yantic River flooding and fears of a dam collapse rocked the region, leaders from several towns and the regional council of governments met Wednesday to begin planning future flood prevention efforts.
Leaders from Norwich, Bozrah, Franklin, Sprague, Montville and the Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments gathered for an hour-long meeting at Norwich City Hall to discuss efforts to secure state and federal grants to address river flooding.
Yantic River Flooding
Flood Watch
Town leaders and the Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments are discussing efforts to secure state and federal grants to address Yantic River flooding.
Sprague
Lebanon
Franklin
Lisbon
Fitchville Pond Dam
Yantic River Watershed
Yantic River Dam
Norwich
Colchester
Bozrah
Preston
Yantic River Dam
Falls Mill Upper and Lower dams
Salem
Geographic data from the Connecticut
Department of Energy and Environmental
Protection shows the hydrology of the area.
Montville
Ledyard
Map: Scott Ritter/The Day — Data: USGS; CT DEEP
Flood Watch
Discussions are underway to secure state and federal grants to address Yantic River flooding.
Lebanon
Franklin
Yantic River Watershed
Fitchville Pond Dam
Yantic River Dam
Norwich
Colchester
Bozrah
Yantic River Dam
Salem
Falls Mill Upper and Lower dams
Montville
Montville
Geographic data from the Connecticut
Department of Energy and Environmental
Protection shows the hydrology of the area.
Map: Scott Ritter/The Day — Data: USGS; CT DEEP
SCCOG presented a memo to Wednesday's meeting participants outlining initial steps and measures already recommended in a 2023 flood mitigation plan.
Those measures included a flood mitigation study along the Yantic to assess risks to properties, an effort SCCOG now is pursuing. Recommendations also included voluntary property acquisitions to create more open space along the river, discussing possible property mitigation with land owners who experience frequent flood damage and studying permanent protection for Norwich Public Utilities' Bean Hill power substation that serves 5,000 city electric customers.
SCCOG is working with the Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation, CIRCA, to conduct a $150,000 study starting in April to gather flood experience data in the Yantic River towns and propose mitigation options.
SCCOG in January applied for a $350,000 study through the federal Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program to review the data from the CIRCA study, meet with residents and businesses and design about eight mitigation projects. The study, which would start in April 2025, would be 75% federally funded and 25% funded with technical assistance by SCCOG and the towns. Norwich already has pledged a $7,500 cash contribution, SCCOG Executive Director Amanda Kennedy said.
The towns and SCCOG will form a steering committee with members including municipal leaders, business owners, state agencies, institutions and watershed groups.
Following Wednesday's meeting, Kennedy and SCCOG Director of Regional Planning Helen Zincavage accompanied Bozrah First Selectman Glenn Pianka on a visit to the Fitchville Pond Dam. A leak discovered in the side wall of the dam during the Jan. 10 flooding prompted emergency evacuations of dozens of homes and businesses downstream in Bozrah and Norwich. The state hired contractors to install a cofferdam to relieve pressure on the 19th-century concrete structure.
Pianka said he will meet with dam owner Seymour Adelman to discuss future measures, whether that be repairing the dam or remove it. State Department of Energy and Environmental Protection officials reported at the time of the flood and evacuation that the dam lacked routine inspections and maintenance and that the owner had not filed a required action plan.
SCCOG officials reiterated that the Jan. 10 flooding was not caused by the dam leak, but that the condition of the dam remains a top concern. Pianka agreed.
"Looking over that railing that day on the box culvert, I had the feeling of impending doom," Pianka said. "I couldn't look over the railing, the water was so turbulent, it scared me, quite honestly."
Pianka said removing the dam would not negatively impact the nearby Odetah Campground, but he said the pond is used frequently for recreation, such as fishing and kayaking. He said losing the pond would have an aesthetic impact on the surrounding village.
NPU has a large, 16-inch diameter water main running directly past the dam. NPU officials did not attend the meeting, but later Wednesday, NPU spokesman Chris Riley said that NPU has identified three to five sinkholes adjacent to the water main. Riley said it's unclear what caused the sinkholes.
"As this situation is of significant concern to NPU," Riley wrote, "we worked with the Town of Bozrah to backfill the sink holes, which were approximately two feet deep, with a processed gravel. We believe this step will stabilize the ground near our water main."
