Fairfield Posts Updated Floodplain Plan Review, Lists Ongoing Risk-Reduction Projects

FAIRFIELD, CT — An updated review of Fairfield’s Floodplain Management Plan is available to the public on the Town Plan and Zoning Department webpage, First Selectperson Christine Vitale announced this week.

Fairfield’s flood reduction action items are included in MetroCOG’s multi-town Hazard Mitigation Plan, which was updated in August 2024. According to the town, staff from multiple departments and the Flood Prevention, Climate Resilience, and Erosion Control Board collaborated on the review of action items. Those items covered prevention, property protection, floodplain management regulations, structural and natural systems protection, education and awareness, and emergency management initiatives.

The update was presented by Town Plan and Zoning staff to the Board of Selectpersons at its March 18 meeting. The town said the review effort is intended to help reduce Fairfield’s future flood risk, protect lives and reduce property damage.

The town listed several projects as completed or underway through the regional hazard mitigation plan. It said the Riverside Drive Bridge and Turney Creek tide gate system has been completed, while a second tide gate on Riverside Drive is in the design phase. The final draft of the tidegate and flood control inventory also was completed and issued by the town consultant.

Construction of the Fairchild Wheeler Country Club stormwater detention area is scheduled to begin this spring, according to the town. Construction on the Tunxis Park detention area will begin in the summer of 2026, and the East Trunk Line sanitary sewer project started in 2025. The town also said Perry’s Green bulkhead repair was completed in 2025 and that the Conservation Department is acquiring tidal marshland properties to protect them from development in perpetuity while beginning tidal marshland restoration at Reef Road.

Fairfield also participates in FEMA’s voluntary Community Rating System, which gives ratings to communities that exceed the minimum requirements of the National Flood Insurance Program’s floodplain management standards. According to the town, Fairfield’s work results in a 10% discount for 2,256 policyholders, or about $418,147 in annual savings. The town said Fairfield is one of 13 communities in Connecticut that currently participates in the program.