Connecticut grapples with the effects of climate change and the impact on aging infrastructure

Parts of southwestern Connecticut received as much as 16 inches of rain during Sunday’s torrential rainstorms that left devastating damage in its wake.

The flash flooding left two Oxford women dead , houses and businesses flooded and many state and local roads and bridges washed away.

While recovery and reconstruction efforts are underway, many roadways are closed for the foreseeable future.

Gov. Ned Lamont declared a state of emergency in Connecticut in response to the severe flooding and was also granted a federal emergency declaration by President Joe Biden for New Haven, Fairfield and Litchfield counties.

Lamont said he filed the request for the emergency declaration to make sure Connecticut got “to the front of the line to make sure Oxford and neighboring towns can get back on their feet.”

Warming air and waters feed more powerful storms

But as elected officials respond to the emergency at hand, they are also grappling with the reality that the storms are growing in frequency and intensity.

“That comes with climate change,” said Anthony Allen, the director of restoration strategy at Save the Sound, a nonprofit environmental organization. Allen explained the atmospheric science behind the types or storms Connecticut is experiencing.

“When we have a warmer atmosphere, it can hold more water,” Allen said. “When we have warmer Atlantic Ocean temperatures and the surface temperatures in the Atlantic are off the charts this year, they’re really, really high … you’re going to get more storm systems developing.”

As a result, “we’re just going to get more of these storms coming up from the Atlantic and it can rain a whole lot in a short period of time,” Allen said.

Research directly ties “at least a portion of this intensification of precipitation events to human activity,” Allen said, citing a rise in greenhouse gases and atmospheric changes as contributing factors to an increase in severe weather events.

Global climate change plays out locally

Ask local elected officials in Connecticut like Rudy Marconi, first selectman of Ridgefield, about the change in Connecticut’s weather patterns and you get a similar sentiment.

“It’s becoming more and more a reality,” Marconi said. “I’ve been doing this work for a long time, in this job for 25 years, elected in town for 35 years — and I’ve got to tell you, there’s no question that our weather patterns have changed.”

“I don’t think anyone can put up any kind of proof to counter that there’s any doubt about it,” Marconi said, “and we need to adjust accordingly and prepare for it, admit it and understand it.”

Infrastructure upgrades sorely needed, officials say

One way to prepare, Marconi said, is by examining infrastructure and the storm systems that handle drainage and flood water control across Connecticut. With the intensity and frequency of the recent storms, the systems just can’t handle that quick volume of water and so there is major flooding as a result, Marconi said.

“Our many culverts and pipes have been underground for years and years and years and the drainage systems across many municipalities in the state … haven’t all been upgraded,” Marconi said. “They’ve been handling everything for hundreds of years.”

Republican State Sen. Tony Hwang, who represents Connecticut’s 28th District of Easton, Fairfield, Bethel and Newtown, said the magnitude of severe storms can overwhelm cities and towns.

“The average rainfall for Oxford and Newtown for the month of August is about 3.2 inches; we got 12 to 16 inches of rainfall this past weekend. It is a catastrophic amount of rain; no infrastructure could accommodate it,” Hwang said.

Officials say that a storm like this only brings to the forefront the necessity for every city and municipality to begin looking at upgrades to drainage systems.

“As we continue to experience climate change and the impact of the storms that we’re having today, the 100-year storm is not every 100 years, it’s happening on a fairly regular basis,” Marconi said.

But, he said, “there are solutions. That’s the good news.”

Part of the plan needs to include upgrading the current infrastructure to reduce the amount of water that flows downstream during extreme rainfall, he said.

Marconi said this can be done “by intercepting the water and installing underground holding areas so that these massive amounts of water aren’t forced on the people downstream, causing the flooding results.”

As Connecticut’s elected officials try to tackle the storm- related challenges ahead, a fix is neither quick nor without cost.

“It’s hugely expensive,” Marconi said. “It’s something that we’re going to have to take one year at a time in our capital plan.”

This story was first published Aug. 21, 2024 by Connecticut Public.