Crossett Brook Middle School reopened on Tuesday this week, after being closed Thursday, Friday and Monday due to flooding for the second time in less than a year.
The first flood occurred last July when water from Crossett Brook scoured an existing streambank, creating a new channel on the southside of the driveway, eating its way to the school’s utility boxes. Flood water moved through the electrical conduits into the school.
The changes to the existing streambank and the flow of the water were extreme. Last week’s flooding was a repeat of last summer’s only exacerbated by an ice jam.
Prior to last week’s flood, school district officials were planning to modify the newly-eroded/created streambank and re-establish the former stream flow pattern. Recent reporting by the Waterbury Roundabout features detailed information about the flooding and provides great pictures of the changes in the streambed and streambanks.
Given the volatility of streams and their propensity to wander, we question whether trying to coax the brook back into its old banks makes sense. In response to questions about other solutions, including moving the utility boxes to the northside of the driveway, district officials said it would be very expensive. The proposed stream-course moving solution is $21,000.
That $21,000 is not covered by insurance, although (almost) all but $2,500 of this week’s flood (and last July’s flood) were covered by insurance. But this isn’t the only campus in the school district that is facing flood issues. Moretown Elementary School flooded in December 2023 ($1.4 million) and flooded again this July. The cross-country trails at Harwood Union suffered $50,000 in damage during last July’s flooding after Dowsville Brook jumped its banks and rampaged from the top of Duxbury to below Maynards in Moretown.
In 2016, a Crossett Brook culvert near the school was replaced while Route 100 was one lane via a temporary bridge. That new culvert is huge, many times larger than the old culvert. In keeping with the state guidance after Tropical Storm Irene in 2011, culverts were upsized.
Maybe we should take a look at our schools from a watershed point of view and work on a district-wide plan rather than piecemeal solutions. We understand that Crossett Brook is vulnerable – we question whether this is the right solution, especially given the 2016 culvert replacement.
