PORTLAND, Conn. — Wednesday’s rain isn’t enough to cause widespread flooding, but for residents of Jobs Pond in Portland who are at risk of losing their livelihoods, every drop makes it harder to keep their heads above water.
Many of the residents have already shut off their power and have taken steps to encase their homes and furnaces.
Over the past three weeks, the water level has risen. The private pond is fed by runoff, culverts and an underground glacial spring and there is no place for the water to exit. The pond’s water level is cyclical, with some years being better than others but residents who have lived on the water for decades say they have never seen it this bad.
The water is higher and so is the anxiety.
“It’s devastating,” said Jobs Pond resident Ellen Mantel. “You see the water coming in and all the work you’ve done to try to make your home better and you see things just crumbling.”
Eight homes now sit abandoned. Those who are still afloat are holding on to hope.
“All we can do is hope,” said Mantel.
They are bracing for another round of rain Wednesday.
“Whatever may come could bring this up significantly higher,” added Jobs Pond resident Veronica Ketch.
But it isn’t all bad news.
“I promise you there are a lot of people working on this at the state, local and federal level,” said Portland First Selectman Ryan Curley.
Curley said that in just three weeks, 75% of the funding needed to begin pumping has come through - mostly thanks to federal resources. Government agencies have moved fast to cut red tape, but not fast enough.
“It’s starting to encompass houses,” said Ketch.
“We’ve put in hundreds and hundreds of sandbags,” added Mantel.
The temporary fix is to deploy two pumps capable of moving 10,000 gallons of water a minute through piping into the Connecticut River. While engineers work to start that project, they are simultaneously brainstorming a long term fix.
“They would be digging a pipeline from the pond either to a retention pond or out further to the river. It would be gravity fed and if the water rose to a certain point, it would just flow out and this would not happen again,” explained Curley.
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Curley made no mention Wednesday of the USDA’s ominous option to buy residents out of their multi-generational homes.
When asked about the last 25% of the funding, the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said, “Connecticut residents continue to experience the impacts of climate change, and DEEP sympathizes with the residents of Jobs Pond and the difficult flooding they’ve been dealing with. DEEP has no regulatory role with respect to the current flooding situation at Jobs Pond, which is a privately owned pond with no public access."
DEEP continued, "Despite that, DEEP, along with DESPP and other partner agencies, has worked to support the town of Portland over the past several weeks as town leaders have worked to identify a potential federal funding program to assist in implementing short-term solutions for the residents of Jobs Pond. DEEP is also attempting to help identify funding to be used as a non-federal match to support this federal funding.
They added that they "will continue to support the town of Portland as it works to secure federal resources on behalf of its residents. DEEP will also be ready to support the town as it explores long-term solutions to help make this area more resilient to future flooding impacts and limit the impacts of future flooding.”
Even once all the funding comes in, legal agreements still need to be in place with all the private property owners who will be affected by the temporary pipeline pumping project.
Curley said the town has identified only one resident who does not have a place to stay following his evacuation. They are temporarily staying in a Portland Motel with the Red Cross providing assistance.
Matt Caron is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at mcaron@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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