Wrecked Culvert A Testament To 'Off The Charts' Rain In Vernon

VERNON, CT — A culvert along the Rails-to-Trails system in the central part of Vernon that caved in during the height of Tropical Storm Henri and caused a stream to overflow into local properties has been repaired by municipal crews. The damage is a testament to rain totals that have been "off the charts" over the past few days and throughout the summer, the town administrator said.

The brunt of the work on the culvert was completed by Department of Public Works and Parks and Recreation Department staffers Monday and the finishing touches were made Tuesday and access was restored for trail users, officials said.

The culvert collapsed at about midday Sunday during the peak of Tropical Storm Henri. It dammed up a stream that crosses underneath the trail system between Center Road and Walker Terrace, causing rainwater to overflow first into the wetlands and then some yards.

To make matters worse, the storm drains from the upper portion of Center Road were bubbling up, causing thousands of gallons of water to spill downhill toward the stream.

One home along the 200 block of Center Road was overwhelmed by the overflowing water and wound up with nearly 4 feet in its basement.

Vernon Town Administrator Michael Purcaro, who is also the town's emergency management director, said he has seen a lot of emergencies in his career, but nothing like the rain north central Connecticut has had this spring and summer.

He fell short of saying the collapsed culvert in Vernon and a demolished street in Manchester were inevitable during Henri, but also said the ground was softened and saturated like at no other time in his memory.

"This is unprecedented," he said.

Take the past few days, for example. Last Thursday, the area had 3.25 inches of rain in a flash thunderstorm. That was followed by Henri's 5.2 inches Sunday and 2 inches more when there s storm briefly backtracked into the area Monday.

The regional water treatment plant in Vernon typically handles 5 to 7 million gallons a day in normal seasonal situations and had a capacity of 12 million gallons a day, Purcaro said. At the height of Henri, the flow easily surpassed the 12 million gallon mark, he said.

"We were out in force looking at all the drains, streams, rivers and cash basins before, during and after the storm, but there was so much water, there was little we could do," he said. "We're talking about rainfall that was off the charts. It far exceeded the capabilities of our storm water management systems."

He then added, "If this trend continues, we have to seriously assess the infrastructure."