•

~~r Itarlforb ~OU.r,lnt

CONNECTICUT LIVING == =. ...-~..----,._-...-- ......... -...- ..... ~ -. .- -' ...---- -_.---­­ -_.-==--:===.===.. - . .- ~.......... ::---J- '=='.. _-.. ~ -- SECTION-- .. _. ­* == - -.­ =-== -= --==='.

-

--=... ,. === ~

: --=. .: === ==- ----­

·· _.- - ..... ~ , - . -----.- ..--" - ·F-- - .. - · ......... -- - .. ~ ~ .. ---..- - .....- -­---,-,- ._ .. -. ... - .- .. ­.-.~. ~F2 / TELEVISION - --- . ·, ._-,--. -. -_ .. - THURSDAY F6-7/ COMICS

-- - - APRIL 16,1987

/

The rise and fall of,th Connecticut River By SUSANNE DOWDEN dikes, reservoirs, channels, tunnels and wetlands

Couratit Staff Writer TAMING THIS MIGHTY WATERWAY that protect homes and businesses. And to supplement these controls, a more sophis­steady rain began to fall the evening ticated warning system is being readied to alertof March 30, and hydrologists at the

residents of impending floods.Northeast River Forecast Center in HAS BEEN A ,DIFFICULT CHALLENGE 'Every major flood in the past century hasBloomfield knew within a few hours prompted construction of flood-control structures.that southern New England was in The destruction caused by the 1936 and 1938 floodstrouble. • • led to the building of 13 large dams along tributar­"We knew it could be a long ies in the upper river basin by the Army Corps ofstorm," hydrologist Len Mazarowski said. "Tem­ study rivers and groundwater, could determine England paid off last week as thousands of people Engineers in the 1940s and 1950s.peratures were above freezing.... With snow-melt roughly how high the Connecticut River would get were protected from the raging waters. After the 1955 flood caused by two hurricanes,and the probability of rain, we knew there was a and when it was likely to crest, revising their A mighty river the corps built three more dams in northwesternproblem Tuesday - the beginning of a flood." forecasts every six hours - and sometimes more

Connecticut.frequently. The Connecticut River has been flooding andThe center, a division of the National Weather "That was a tremendous flood, one of the worse indestroying lives and property periodically sinceService, immediately began around-the-clock oper- "We're tired," Mazarowski said last week, after in Connecticut history,'! said Michael Coogan, a corps

lations, processing information gathered from a more than a week of 12-hour shifts. "Our machines' Connecticut settlers started keeping records spokesman.1635. The river begins as a stream about a milenetwork of electrQnic rain and stream gauges, are near smoke-out, and the people are near burn­ The 16 corps dams are capable of holding back afrom the Canadian border in New Hampshire and isvolunteer observers and U.S. Army Corps of Engi­ out." total of 177 billion gallons of water, Coogan said.fed by dozens of smaller rivers and brooks as itneers dams throughout New England.

The exhaustive monitoring of the rain and a vast winds for 409 miles through New England.With the constant flow of data, hydrologists, who network of flood-control devices throughout New Along the way lies a complex system of dams, See Agencies, Page F3

I

'FLOOD-CONTROL MEASURES THE CONNECTICUT RIVER WATERSHED

water. Tiley have fixed openings and discharge only enough water to meetdownstream channel capacity.

There are 32 Soil'CoRSerYation Service flood­control dams on smaller tributarl_ in the

,nnecticut River watershed.

r ­ -~THese unmanned dams are usually dry but in flood time hold back excess

\ . J

MAINE

VERMONT

~ (, \

There are 16 U.S. Anny Corps of En"""" flood­control dams on main tributari_ of the Connecticut River. )

• Most of these larger dams are manned and FLOOD c=:. have controll,able outlets. Th,ey are usually dry.

~---I_I_••~.~, .-:n:::. In.flaad..time...tbev.send_cootinuaus level ~

~~~__~~__~r ........·..,-.:. "'".•••.,,_....._-~-_........ _. -- ----'"1 dry but in flood time hold back excess water. Tt'e'y have fixed openings and dischlrrge, only enough water to meet downstream channel capacity.

There are 16 U.S. Anny Corps of Enpneen flood· control dams on main tributaries of the Connecticut River. • Most of these larger dams are manned and

have controllable outlets. They are usually dry. In flood time, they send continuous level

readings to the Corps Reservoir Control Center in Waltham, Mass. Those readings, combined with Northeast River Forecast Center predictions, determine amounts of water to be discharged.

Not all dam. are for flood control. Many other apncles maintain da.... for other purpo....

• The Stevenson Dam on the Housatonic River, for example, generates electricity. The Saville Dam on the Farmington River forms the Barkhamsted Reservoir and

is designed to provide water supply.

NEW YORK

r VERMONT

~ (

l )

I .

• Other measures include preserving major natural water-storage areas and existing wetlands; acquiring open lands, encouraging farming to decrease susceptibility to flooding, flood-proofing existing structures, and improving

I 30 mil..

, warning systems and emergency responses. LONG ISLAND SOUND

DOWNSTREAM STRUCTURES IN BUILT·UP AREAS PROVIDE ADDITIONAL PROTECTION

• The Park River has been diverted into a tunnel as it goes through Hartford on its way to join the Connecticut River. It normally flows by gravity. But in flood time, when its outlet is underwater, pumps help to move the water.

HARTFORD,

Dikes and tunnels

• Dikes haY,e been buirt along the Connecticut River at Chicopee, Holyoke and Springfield, Mass., and at East Hartford and Hartford.

Channel alterations

• Trout Jlrook IrI W4lSt Hartford was stfalghtMeOatld ~ to )nctease·~ al'ld

reduce,resl8t8nCe, ~I,dng "',cha~,...fiICI8nt

SOURCE: State Department of Environmental Protection, Water Resources Unit, Flood Manjlgement Section Phil Lohman I The Hartford Courant ------, ,{ ~ '\­

THE HARTFORD COURANT: Thursday, April 16, 1987 F3

Agencies mold landscape to tame Connecticut River Continned from Page Fl

The dams, which usually are built from a. combination of soil, gravel and rocks, range in capacity from 482 million gallons to more than 31 billion gallons, Coogan said.' Con­crete spillways are used to control how much water is released, he said.

. Corps officials estimate that three dams in Connecticut - the Mad Riv­er and Sucker Brook dams, both in Winchester, and the Colebrook River dam in Colebrook - have prevented nearly $30 million worth of damage downstream since they were built in the 1960s.

Most corps dams in New England have operators who call the River ForecastCenter every morning with reservoir levels, local weather and daily rainfall data, Mazarowski said.

During the recent storm, several reservoirs in northern New England reached their capacity {or the first time since they were built, Coogan said. More water had to be released from the reservoirs to relieve pres­sure on those dams, but the excess' water did not reach Connecticut un­til after the river had begun to re­cede.

Throughout the rainy week, infor­mation traveled fast and furiously between the River Forecast Center and the corps' reservoir-control cen­ter in Waltham, Mass. Using a com­puter model that takes into account predicted rainfall and reservoir lev­

, els, corps officials could decide how much water could be released safely from its dams.

"It becomes a dog chasing its tail, hopefully with a good conclusion," Mazarowski said of the information relay.

Larger towns along the river, such as Hartford, East Hartford and Springfield, receive further protec­tion from dikes built by the ·corps.

The East Hartford dike, built in 1949, runs along 75 percent of the town's riverfront, said William Ken­nedy, town director of public works. The 39-foot-high concrete structure can keep the town dry for a river depth of up to 26 feet.

"Any development in the extreme north and south end [of East Hart­ford] is above 26 feet," Kennedy said. When the river crested last week at 26 feet, East Hartford had only minor flooding problems.

Without the dikes, Kennedy said, most of the development along the riverfront could not exist.

Aside from the corps' large dams and dikes, the Soil Conservation Service, a division of the U.S. De­partment of Agriculture, has spon­sored several smaller projects along flood-prone tributaries.

Onil! mil!thntl n~ tn Ir_n wAtil!r

U.S. Army

ground and a network of dikes was built along the Con­necticut River to prevent another disaster.

During the flood of 1936, the Park River, in foreground, Hartford under water, including most of Bushnell Park, at combined with the Connecticut River to put a fifth of left. The Park River SUbsequently was diverted under-

thing that is built and every wetland that is filled in that triangular slice of the state affects river levels.

When asphalt and buildings cover land, less water goes into the ground and more runoff heads for the near­est streams. A subdivision that fills in wetlands in South Windsor, for instance, can raise the level of the Podunk River, dump more water into the Connecticut River and wors­en the flooding in Middletown.

WiI!tJAnd!l whil!n lil!ft in thil!ir nAt.lI­

usefUl if residents know what to do when a storm is coming. The SolI Conservation Service has received an $18,000 federal grant to help homeowners who live near the river prepare for flooding.

Too often, officials say, homeown­ers do not realize how to protect their possessions from rising waters. "People wait until it gets to an eleva­tion of 13 feet and just drive away," Christensen said.

Conservation service workers

'-Ioraj 15 aDOve ~tI leet," 1\.enneay said. When the river crested last week at 26 feet, East Hartford had only minor flooding problems.

Without the dikes, Kennedy said, most of the development along the riverfront could not exist.

Aside from the corps' large dams and dikes, the Soil Conservation Service, a division of the U.S. De­partment of Agriculture, has spon­sored several smaller projects along flood-prone tributaries.

One method used to keep water levels under control is to divert the water underground. The Park River, which once wended its way through Hartford, now flows mostly under­ground. .

Dqring the 1936 flood, the Con­necticut and Park rivers combined to put a fifth of Hartford under wa­ter. Flooding along the Park became steadily worse as developme~t in­creased and produced more runoff.

During the late 1970s, the corps channeled the river underground, encasing it in concrete and rerouting it under city streets to the Connecti­cut River.

West Hartford's Trout Brook stayed above ground, but much of it was turned into a concrete trough. The brook used to flood more than 200 homes during heavy rain, and state Department of Environmental Protection officials estimated it caused an average of $233,000 in property damage each year.

That changed during a $12.2 mil­lion project initiated by the DEP and completed in 1985. In addition to paving the brook's channel, five bridges were rebuilt and five new ponds created to store water.

In response to aesthetic concerns, 1,500 trees were planted along its banks, and the concrete was dyed brown to resemble stone. .

Advances in engineering and flood control have kept storms like this month's from creating major floods, but man's ability to control nature in this manner is limited.

"There aren't many opportunities to make big changes in how much water is going to come down," state Conservationist Philip H. Christen­sen said. "We've got to live with what we've got."

The last major dam affecting the Connecticut River - Sucker Brook in Winchester - was completed in 1971, and officials agree there are no major dams in the river's future. The problem now is how to cope with flooding and finding other ways to limit runoff into the river.

One of the original flood-control devices - wetlands - is getting renewed attention. These swampy lands were the only defense against flooding before dams were built, act­ing as natural water-storage areas. They still provide important flood protection.

"That's why we want to protect wetlands," said Benjamin Warner, director of the DEP's water re-

thing that is built and every wetland that is filled in that triangular slice of the state affects river levels.

When asphalt and buildings cover land, less water goes into the ground and more runoff heads for the near­est streams. A subdivision that fills in wetlands in South Windsor, for instance, can raise the level of the Podunk River, dump more water into the Connecticut River and wors­en the flooding in Middletown.

Wetla~ds, when left in their natu­ral state, serve as giant sponges to absorb excess water.

In 1957, the DEP began more stringently monitoring dumping and development along the river's flood plains. Inspectors have found viola­tions of state regulations ranging from illegal building and dumping piles of construction and demolition debris to disposal of household waste.

"We're trying to stress limitation of development in natural storage areas," Warner said. "We want to make sure municipalities keep projects well-maintained."

A new wamine system When the dams, dikes, tunnels,

wetlands and other flood-control techniques fail, Connecticut resi­dents in low-lying areas still have an advantage: It can take several days for flood waters from New Hamp­shire and Vermont to reach the flood plains of Middletown, Christensen said. The sooner residents know about impending floods, the more they can do to protect themselves.

State, federal and local officials joined forces several years ago to develop a statewide, electroIJic flood-warning system. The system, knowq as ASERT - Automated Statewide Evaluation in Real Time - consists of more than 20 rain and stream gauges around the state. When it is completed, the system should have 85 rain gauges and 40 stream gauges.

The gauges send electronic signals to a transfer station when a millime­ter of rain has fallen. These signals' are fed into computers at the DEP water resource office in Hartford and the River Forecast Center.

OfficialS estimate that the addi­tional warning time can reduce flood-related deaths by 75 percent and cut residential property damage by 10 percent to 35 percent.

The ASERT system is still being installed and did not play a major role in forecasting this month's storm. Even when it does become fully functional in several years, Ma­zarowski said, about 50 weather ob­servers will remain a vital link in'the communication network.

These are residents from around southern New England who report data on rainfall levels during storms.

"They're actually weather nuts­people who are interested in the

useful if residents know what to do when a storm is coming. The SOlI Conservation Service has received an $18,000 federal grant to help homeowners who live near the river prepare for flooding.

Too often, officials say, homeown­ers do not realize how to protect their possessions from rising waters. "People wait until it gets to an eleva­tion of 13 feet and just drive away," Christensen said.

Conservation service workers plan to do "flood audits" of about 50 homes along the river to explain what to do when the water reaches a certain height. The suggestions would be as simple as wrapping ap­pliances in plastic bags and moving carpets to the second floor, Christen­sen said. "It sounds simple, but pe0­ple don't think of it," he said.

One common psychological effect of flooding is that people can grad­ually lose their concern and often do not realize that it can happen again soon, Christensen said.

"The nice thing about human na­ture is that .you forget about disas­t~rs," he said. "As time passes, you get the feeling it's not going to hap­pen again/'

Despite the millions of dollars spent on flood-control and monitor­ing systems, flooding is inevitable.

"It's going to keep flooding," Christensen said. "We're trying to decrease the impact."

j ,

Tony Dugal/Special to The Courant

The COlIDecticut River overwhelms homes in .Haddam during last week's flooding.

- I ~