Flooding and sewage issues continue to plague Hartford neighborhood
HARTFORD – Representatives from the US Environmental Protection Agency recently visited the city to listen to residents explain the flooding problems that continue to plague the North End.
EPA officials, representatives from the state Departments of Energy and Environmental Protection, the Metropolitan District Commission and other local and state officials attended a community event in Hartford on Feb. 6 where they heard from residents about sewage flooding during storms, burst pipes, etc. A litany other topics.
“This is the end of the beginning,” said US Senator Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. “It’s not the end.” The end will come when we fix the problem, when we take action to stop the flooding and the backwater in people’s basements. All the troubles you’ve seen firsthand for too long. It is overdue to take action.
The forum was the latest opportunity for residents to voice their concerns about the Hartford flooding. After hearing some of the stories, Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin grabbed the mic and said part of the problem is the city’s inability to use clean water money to create a better flood system. Hartford’s flood works were built over a century ago, he said, which is a major problem at the moment.
“I want to make sure everyone here knows because it has to be part of our commitment as a city … there’s hundreds of millions of dollars of work being done to separate the sewer from the storm sewer,” he said. “Hopefully that keeps the sewage out. The problem is that the money spent on clean water can only be spent on separation. It cannot be spent on building a storm sewer system that is actually capable of handling the volumes of water that we are getting. Because of climate change, we are seeing more extreme storms and more rain.”
The gathering was organized by several community groups, as well as local activist Bridgitte Prince and environmental lawyer Cynthia Jennings. While there are many suggestions to improve conditions in Hartford, it’s not clear what the next steps are or what the timeline for implementing sweeping changes might be.
“It’s no coincidence that North Hartford was left out of the process,” Jennings said. “What’s missing is a solution.” And no, it’s not primarily about solving this problem. “First and foremost, it’s about us addressing the issue of environmental justice, or environmental racism, and making sure that people are treated fairly and equally in this city, which is predominantly colored.”
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