WEST HAVEN -- This time of year dark clouds over West Haven City Hall, don't bother Mayor Edward O'Brien as much as they used to as long as he's prepared for spring flood season.
Otherwise, the drip, drip, drip of rain, can quickly drain city money.
"Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, in expenses if you're not on top of it and ahead of the game," said O'Brien.
Longtime resident of Lydia Street, Elijah Joyner, said the street was a victim of serious flooding back in 2014 and most years before that, almost every spring, almost every flood, almost every time.
"The water would flood from here, all the way to the other driveway," said Joyner.
Joyner has lived on Lydia Street since 1966, and has seen flooded basements far too many times. Now, it's a different stream of thought, thanks to investments by the city.
"We changed all the piping, we put catch basins in, bigger pipes that takes care of the rain water," said O'Brien.
Including removing a tree root from the pipe, to the tune of over half a million dollars, an investment Joyner says is now worth it, just for the peace of mind
"They fixed it, so I don't have to worry," said Joyner.
Today, Lydia Street is once again dry ahead of a storm, and will likely be just as dry behind it, so the only thing you'll see on the street are cars.
"You don't see kayakers on Lydia Street anymore," said O'Brien.
Last year, in an effort to be proactive in West Haven, DEEP awarded over $1.2 million to the city, a lot of that money was used to replace the sand. They brought in a lot of it from Cape Cod to restore the beaches at West Haven.
The other $400,000 is being used for the future to study the beaches and make sure beach erosion doesn't become a major issue in the city.