‘False promises.’ Rooster River neighbors demand answers after yet another major flood
Sunday's flood is the second this summer, and the fourth since 2018. But neighbors have seen little progress, despite nearly $45 million set aside for flood mitigation.
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Homeowners along the Rooster River in Fairfield and Bridgeport are cleaning up from yet another major flood – and growing increasingly frustrated that a nearly $45 million flood mitigation project hasn’t started yet.
SECOND FLOOD IN TWO MONTHS
It’s another nightmare for Vanessa and Pablo Romero.
The couple and their special needs child were just moving back into their home on Lynnbrook Road two months after a flood gutted it in July. But then, nearly 8 inches of rain fell on Sunday, filling their basement and even leaving the first floor 2 feet underwater.
“All this is ruined,” Vanessa Romero said.
Even with donations, the Romero family maxed out their credit cards sinking $150,000 into home repairs and hotel bills. They are still waiting on an insurance check.
“We thought that was bad,” she said. “This is 10 times worse.”
“A LOT OF FALSE PROMISES”
Among the Romeros’ neighbors, frustration is boiling over.
“We’ve had four floods since 2018 and two this summer,” said Jeff Gurner, who lives several doors down.
Connecticut has earmarked nearly $45 million for flood mitigation along the Rooster River, but homeowners have seen little progress.
“There’s a lot of false promises,” said neighbor Gary Vigeant. “If there’s money appropriated for the dredging of the river, it cannot be that difficult to figure out.”
So where has the money gone?
Fairfield was awarded a $2.5 million Urban Act grant to build a 9-foot-tall berm at Tunxis Hill Park and has set aside local funds, too. The project was mired in permitting delays but will finally begin soon, according to Fairfield First Selectperson Christine Vitale.
"The project was initially delayed because Fairfield was awaiting permitting approval by the Army Corps of Engineers and CT DEEP," Vitale told News 12 on July 28. "The project has since been approved by the appropriate federal, state and town bodies. Funding is in place and construction should begin this Fall."
Bridgeport and Fairfield are also collaborating on a flood control project at the Fairchild Wheeler Golf Course, according to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. But a DEEP spokesman said that another $42 million that lawmakers earmarked for flood mitigation has yet to be placed on the State Bond Commission agenda for approval.
Vanessa Romero is tired of waiting. She’s ready to move – if anyone will buy her house.
“When it was back in July, we were told that they were going to start working on the Rooster River in August. August came, nothing happened. We're already mid-September,” she said. “We don’t need politicians to tell us how sorry they are. We need action.”
