Naugatuck Awarded $1M Grant To Mitigate Chronic Flooding Issue

NAUGATUCK, CT — Naugatuck is among the 12 municipalities in the state sharing in $13.3 million in grants for infrastructure upgrades that will modernize and rehabilitate housing for low and moderate-income individuals, Gov. Ned Lamont announced Friday.

Naugatuck was awarded $1 million to help mitigate chronic flooding in the Cherry Street area.

“These grants go a long way toward improving neighborhoods so that we can make our communities more attractive and encourage continued growth for the benefit of all of our residents,” Lamont said in a statement. “They also create good jobs at good wages that help keep people employed across our state.”

Awarded through the Community Development Block Grant Small Cities program, which is administered by the Connecticut Department of Housing with funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, eligible projects must be in a municipality with fewer than 50,000 residents and have a “focus on improving neighborhoods, eliminating blight, and attracting economic development,” according to a news release.

“These awards will help to improve the lives of our Connecticut neighbors,” Connecticut Housing Commissioner Seila Mosquera-Bruno said. “Whether it is helping a family to complete essential renovations on their homes such as repairing a leaking roof, making a public housing living facilities ADA compliant, or improving fire safety or improvements to a waste water treatment facilities, CDBG Small Cities funding is an important program. These funds provide flexibility in our toolbox, allowing us to assist municipalities in leveraging different resources together.”

The project's details are below:

Naugatuck – Cherry Street Area Flood and Drainage Control ($1 million): The proposed scope of work is intended to improve the drainage characteristics of the watershed area above the Cherry Street neighborhood. This will mitigate chronic flooding of the area during severe rainstorm events. The water diverted would be directed to an existing drainage ditch, which will be improved and relined with rip-rap and stone check dams to slow the velocity of the water and dissipate its energy. The project will greatly benefit the neighborhood by reducing if not eliminating the possibility of future property flooding.