Floodwaters on the Wane

With overnight rainfall lighter than anticipated, floodwaters are receding from Middletown and Portland today.

The Connecticut River overflowed its banks in recent days after reaching flood stage at 11 feet. But as of today the river began to recede, even with the rainfall that started late yesterday and petered out today.

At Harbor Park in Middletown the river is back within its banks, leaving behind thickish mud deposits along the boardwalk.

While owners of the Harbor Park Restaurant used sandbags to safeguard against the floodwaters, they never reached the restaurant’s doors, said Bob Meier, deputy director of the town’s public works department.

Neither Middletown nor Portland needed to activate its emergency operations systems, officials in both towns said.

“We’re doing pretty well,” Meier said.

In Portland a section of Route 17A remained closed because of river flooding that saw the Portland Fairgrounds go underwater as well.

First Selectwoman Susan Bransfield said there were isolated reports of basement flooding by some residents, and flooding in low-lying areas, but no evacuations were required.

Meier said local officials monitor the river daily throughout the spring. It’s not just heavy rainstorms that are a concern, Meier said, but northern snow melts that feed into the river and bring higher water levels south.

In central Vermont and New Hampshire, he said, there is still about three feet of snow on the ground. If that region experiences a sudden warm-up and swift melting of the snow, that could raise the Connecticut River’s water level suddenly.

“Typically, April is the worst time for flooding,” he said.