The City of Derby went on the defensive Sunday evening, closing four flood gates along the Housatonic River for the first time since the devices were installed in 1973.
The goal is to eliminate the possibility of massive flooding downtown, Derby Public Works Director Ron Culmo said.
Why’d he do it?
“The Naugatuck River is raging out of control in the north right now. They don’t know when it’s going to crest or how much water is coming down,” Culmo said.
“And we got a call they are going to open up the Stevenson Dam some more because it can’t hold back the water anymore.”
Update: Culmo told the Valley Indy Monday morning in an e‑mail that the mechanisms worked properly.
The Housatonic and the Naugatuck meet at Derby’s O’Sullivan’s Island, which was under about 12 feet of water Sunday night — and that was low tide.
“High tide is about midnight, so you can figure it’s going to go up another four to seven feet,” Culmo said. “Now it’s closed. The engines are pumping. We’re safe right now.”
If all goes as planned — and the mechanisms work — the flood gates will come down sometime between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. Monday, Culmo said.
Firefighters from the Paugussett Fire Company finished closing the gates at about 6 p.m. Sunday.
The Housatonic River was the city’s main concern after Irene cleared the area.
“Our issue right now is still the river,” said Charles Sampson, Derby’s director of the Office of Emergency Management.
The Housatonic River was at 20.8 feet as of 5:30 p.m. Sunday.
The flood level is 11 feet.
Lakes above the Stevenson Dam had been lowered prior to Irene’s arrival, but First Light, the company that owns the Stevenson Dam, notified Derby Sunday afternoon it had no choice but to increase water flow over the dam.
That was a parting shot from Irene, which dumped some 10-to-14-inches of rain further north in the Housatonic River basin. Story continues after the photo gallery.
Raging Naugatuck
Meanwhile, the Naugatuck River hit 14.3 feet Sunday, causing havoc in Beacon Falls and spilling onto Route 67 in Seymour.
That level is the second-highest the river has ever been in Beacon Falls. The record still belongs to the disastrous flood of Aug. 19, 1955, when it reached 25.7 feet.
As of 5:30 p.m. Sunday, the Naugatuck River at Beacon Falls had dipped to 9.5 feet.
Article continues after this photo of the Derby Greenway, taken by Photo courtesy of Lt. Tom Biggs of the Paugassett Hook & Ladder Co.
The Storm In Derby
Irene kept the Derby Department of Public Works extremely busy Saturday night straight through Sunday.
Hawthorne Avenue — from about E Street and stretching west — was a mess, with numerous trees down. Hawthorne, which runs parallel to Route 34, was shut at Cullens Hill Road as of Sunday afternoon.
Much of the area around Osbornedale State Park — Derby Neck Road, Silver Hill Road — was without power Sunday, including the city’s DPW facility on Coon Hollow Road.
The Derby Fire Department was not inundated with storm-related calls late Saturday or early Sunday, Derby Fire Chief William Nicoletti said.
“I have to commend our public works department. They were, basically, patrolling the streets of Derby. We would have trees down, wires down and they would immediately call UI (United Illuminating) and block or clear the road to make it safe,” Nicoletti said.
There were two or so calls involving downed live wires — including one incident with a live wire under a propane-powered mobile home — but all turned out OK.
“I think we dodged a bullet on this one. There was excellent preparation by the agencies in the City of Derby,” Sampson said.
Derby Police Chief Gerald Narowski said Saturday night into Sunday morning was slow.
“People stayed off the roads, thankfully,” Narowski said.
The chief said officers would be monitoring the Housatonic at high tide late Sunday in case of flooding.
Mayor Anthony Staffieri declared a city-wide emergency at 3 p.m. Saturday. The city used Derby Middle School as a temporary shelter. Three people rode out the storm in the shelter Saturday into Sunday morning.
Meanwhile, Derby Public Schools are closed Monday. Staff should not report.
However, the school district will open Tuesday, as scheduled, for the first day of school, Superintendent Stephen Tracy said in an e‑mail to the Valley Independent Sentinel.
Sorry, kids.
Despite the mandatory evacuation order, only one or two families left McConney’s Grove, a flood-prone community on the shores of the Housatonic off Roosevelt Drive (Route 34).
Residents there threw a hurricane party Saturday night — and it stretched into Sunday afternoon. Article continues after the video.
It was similar to the get together that played out there during the March flood. How did Irene compare to the previous flood?
“The water is much warmer now,” said resident Pam Stahl.
There was little property damage at McConney’s. Residents had been preparing for days.
“Down here, everybody gets along, everybody helps each other. We’re used to this,” Stahl said.
In fact, a bunch of residents gave a hand as Kerry O’Connell walked into the Housy to try to better secure his docks. The worry was that as the river rises, they’ll be carried away.
Here’s the video:
