New Britain residents push state to fund infrastructure project to fix flooding issue

People who live in the Allen Street area of New Britain continue to push for infrastructure upgrades.

Residents have been dealing with flooding during major rainstorms for decades, and while there is a plan in the works to fix the issue, the project hasn’t been fully funded yet.

“The pipes are outdated, they’re too small, and they’re decaying. They’re compromised,” said Frank Chase. “We’ve had 10 major floods since July 4, 2023. Six in 2023, and four in 2024. So, the weather has changed. The system just can’t handle the flow of water.”

Chase leads a grassroots group of neighbors that meets frequently to update residents and encourage them to push local and state leaders to act.

“We pay for our sewer and storm systems and we’re not getting our money’s worth here,” Chase said.

He said the problem lies underneath Allen Street, where the clay pipes have decayed. When it rains, the area floods, sending water into people’s homes.

“This street can look like a river,” said Robert Swarr. “We installed a basement system for $10,000, and at that time we thought it was an individual problem with our house, but then we realized it was systemic issue.”

“I know people who have lost their finished basements,” said Peggy Messerschmidt. “It’s really a problem. It’s really affecting the value of our homes.”

In a letter to residents in October, the city outlined its plan for the Allen Street Drainage Improvements and Reconstruction Project. The cost will be over $14 million, and the city has committed to paying 30%.

“The sewer pipe is currently a 12-inch clay pipe. They’re gonna change it to a 24-inch PVC pipe. The storm drains, they’re gonna change those from a clay pipe, I believe they’re 12 inch pipes, they’re gonna increase them to 66 inch pipes,” Chase explained. “[The mayor] put that in writing for us, the state has that paperwork, and now we’re waiting for the state to step up. Our state legislators and the governor need to step up and come up with a bonding issue for the balance.”

A spokesperson for the city said they’ve submitted an application for funding from the state and are waiting to hear back.

“Infrastructure projects are expensive and difficult, and it takes time, but citizens just have to keep up the pressure until it happens,” said Swarr.

“We’ve been suffering with this problem for 30 years, we’ve finally got the city’s attention, now we need the governor to help us and cooperate — get the bonding issue put together for us,” Chase said. “I’m not gonna quit until this is fixed because this is really unfair.”