DEEP Issues 'Stop Work' Order on Flood Control Project

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has issued a two-week “stop work” order and will attend Tuesday night’s West Hartford Town Council meeting as it works to address residents’ concerns about maintenance work on its flood control system project along the South Branch of the Park River.

Mayor Scott Slifka told the Hartford Courant that the council will suspend its rules to address the project since it was not on the agenda.

The Courant reports that residents who are angry that the DEEP has removed trees along Trout Brook to facilitate the work are also expected to attend the meeting.

The DEEP announced on Monday that it is taking a series of steps aimed at addressing the concerns of the residents, including issuing the two-week “stop work” order to its contractor on the project.

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During this time, the contractor will only engage in activities determined to be minor and non-impactful and will not undertake any actions that could affect natural resources or homeowners in any significant way, according to a press release.

DEEP Commissioner Robert Klee, along with DEEP staff administering the maintenance project, will attend Tuesday’s council meeting.

The commissioner and staff plan to provide an explanation of and update on the flood control system maintenance work and have an opportunity to hear the concerns of council members and the public.

The DEEP has also scheduled the following public information sessions:

• November 4 at 6:30 p.m. in the Town Council chambers at West Hartford Town Hall. Residents are invited to attend, hear a presentation on the project, and to talk with DEEP staff about it.

• A similar session has also been scheduled in Newington – where maintenance work on the South Branch Park River Flood Control System – will start soon. That meeting will take place Nov. 5th at 6:30 p.m. in the Tow Council chambers of the Newington town Hall.

“The maintenance work on the flood control system along the South Branch of the Park River is critical to protecting lives and property as these waters flow through West Hartford, Newington, and Hartford,” Klee said in the press release. “We need to complete this project to ensure that it remains in compliance with federal requirements and continues to provide the protection people have come to rely upon – and to do so in a manner, that as much as possible, addresses issues that have been raised by people who live nearby.

“Failure to complete this maintenance work, would impose severe risks and financial burdens to those who live on or near the South Branch of the Park River. The risk of flooding would increase significantly – this was an area that was typically flooded during storms before the flood control project was constructed. In addition, if work is not completed and the federal government decertifies the system, many property owners would be required to purchased floor insurance, which could cost the typical homeowner $2,000 a year or more.”

Read more from the release below:

Background on the Project

Construction of the flood control system for the South Branch of the Park River was started in Hartford in 1964. The final segment – Piper Brook in West Hartford to Mill Brook in Newington – was completed in 1991. As a result of the project the South Branch of the Park River, as it flows through Hartford, Newington, and West Hartford, was engineered into channel that could conduct water away from flood prone areas during major flooding events.

The $4.5 million maintenance project involves clearing tress and vegetation in and around the water channel, as well as removing sediment and obstructions from the floodway that could prevent the system from functioning as designed. This type of work was last done in 2000. The federal Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) has informed DEEP that maintenance work must be performed to standards or the flood control system would be decertified.