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Hartford residents meet with feds to explain impact chronic flooding and sewage backups have on their lives

"Hartford literally is a New Orleans, 9th Ward tragedy waiting to happen," said Hartford native Bridgitte Prince.

HARTFORD, Conn. — Hartford residents said they feel ignored by city and state officials when it comes to flooding and sewage backup issues. On Tuesday, they had the ear of the federal government.

Officials from the Environmental Protection Agency met with residents to discuss their concerns which mainly center around the city’s North End.

Dozens of Hartford residents and business owners showed up at the American Legion on Main Street for a community open mic vent session on long-standing flood and sewer issues. 

Bridgitte Prince, a Hartford native who organized the meeting said, “The tragedy is lives are at stake. Hartford literally is a New Orleans, 9th Ward tragedy waiting to happen.”

FOX61 cameras have captured residents needing to be rescued from their own homes in the Blue Hills section of the city. It’s Councilman TJ Clarke’s neighborhood. 

“This dates back decades,” said Clarke. “All of the suburban pipes run through Hartford.”

The city’s water company, MDC, said the fix is to separate the stormwater and sewer pipes which are right now, merged.

“People do think that the MDC might be the evil empire however we can’t do this without the assistance of the MDC and to take it a step further, the assistance of the state and the assistance of the federal government,” explained Clarke.

But Alburn Montague told FOX61 sometimes government red tape gets in the way. He’s a business owner and landlord. He took FOX61 into his basement where you can still see the water line on his boilers from a flood. 

“It affected my building and my property. I really don’t care whose issue it is, just don’t let it happen again please,” said Montague.

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He and others told FOX61 it’s a problem they feel would have already been fixed if we were talking about an affluent suburb. 

“I would love to see people who are stuck in the neighborhood get the same benefits and resources that are directed to them regardless of the zip code that they are in,” said Montague.

Sen. Blumenthal joined the EPA, MDC, Hartford DPW Director and other city and state leaders. 

Mayor Bronin was out of town but sent FOX61 a statement that read, in part, “Connecticut’s stormwater system is built for a different era, when so-called 100-year storms were actually hundred-year storms instead of annual events.”

No decisions were made on Tuesday. It was a listening session but the first time that all the stakeholders were at the same table.

Despite millions of money appropriated by Gov. Ned Lamont to address flooding in economically stressed communities, it’s become clear that a fix of this magnitude will require financial help from the federal government. 

Matt Caron is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at mcaron@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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