State, Federal Funds Expected To Address Portland Flooding

PORTLAND, CT — The State Bond Commission will consider approving $187,500 in state funding that will be used to install pumps at Jobs Pond in Portland. The funds are intended to address an ongoing situation in which rising groundwater has been causing flooding in nearby neighborhoods.

The pumps will be used to divert groundwater from the pond to the Connecticut River.

Gov. Ned Lamont said in a statement that the approval of these state funds is expected to unlock $562,500 in federal matching funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.

The Connecticut Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection have been working with the Town of Portland on finding a solution to address the groundwater levels.

“This is a very unique and complex situation because even though rainfall in the region is above normal for this time of year, water levels at the pond have continued to rise even on days when we’ve received no precipitation, and it’s still not clear exactly what is causing it and why this has been unlike any other event the pond has experienced in recent decades,” Lamont said in a statement. “By releasing these state funds, we can unlock federal matching dollars that will initiate action to pump waters from Jobs Pond into the Connecticut River, which we are hopeful will mitigate the impact of this flooding."

The State Bond Commission will vote on the funding at its next meeting, which will be held on Friday in Hartford.