CHESTER, Connecticut — The Connecticut River is at an extremely high level for this time of year.
A wet June across New England, and more recently, the flooding rains are to blame.
The Chester-Hadlyme ferry across the Connecticut River closed Wednesday, after making one run for commuters in the morning.
“The main concern is the water gets too high. We can’t get underneath the ramp safely to load and unload our passengers,” captain Tony Mirabelli said.
Plus, there’s debris floating down the river. Trees, branches and even chairs; whatever the floodwaters from the north are carrying with it.
“They got a lot of rain up north in Vermont, so that’s just washing down slowly now. We’re usually at the tail end of its course,” Mirabelli said.
Usually in the middle of summer, the river is fairly clear. Not this time. The rushing water is murky and brown.
The ferry, deployed in 1950, is large, slow-moving and generally able to handle debris, as the captains sit high above the water.
Recreational boaters face bigger trouble both on the river and even in Long Island Sound in the coming days, as the debris floating downriver end up there.
Brian Sierpinski brought his boat from the morning on the river back into the Chester marina today.
"They asked me to bring the boat in because they were worried about debris damaging boats out there,” he said.
Upriver in Portland, the water is swelling well beyond the river bank.
A nearly mile long portion of Main Street is covered by water, a few feet deep in spots.
It’s an inconvenience for people trying to get around, but a more serious issue for farmers along the river. Nathan Darna, checking on the status of the water, works for Gotta’s Farm, and said they are concerned about their crops, including corn and pumpkins.
“I’ve never seen it this deep at all,” in the summer, Darna said.
With more rain in the forecast, even when the river starts going down, crop loss will continue to be a concern.
Ryan Breton is a meteorologist at FOX61 News. He can be reached at rbreton@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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