Roads closed after torrential rains

Stonington (WTNH) - Inspectors in Stonington are looking for possible damage at bridges and dams in the area following the deluge of heavy rain and resulting flood waters.

One site of concern was Sylvia's pond Dam, located off Briar Patch Road, which failed during Wednesday night's downpour.

The National Weather Service issued a Flash Flood Warning for people living downstream of the dam because of the uncertainty of the damage and the potential for more rain. That warning expired at 1:00 p.m.

"There was an unprecedented amount of rain that came down in a short period of time," Stonington First Selectman Ed Haberek Jr. said Wednesday.

By Thursday morning the water levels pulled back a little, giving officials time to see if all that flooding did any permanent damage to Stonington's bridges and dams.

"Right now we're just checking all of our infrastructure to make sure everything is sound," Stonington Emergency Services Director George Brennan said.

The Route 1 bridge on the Rhode Island state line is taking a pounding and it was even worse right after Wednesday's downpours.

"You couldn't see those rocks along the side of the water, so it was probably another foot, foot and a half higher," Artie Ferraro of Westerly, Rhode Island said, "and it was really moving."

Further to the West, Route 1 had to be shut down with water levels dangerously close to the top of another bridge. Inspectors allowed that road to reopen around 10 a.m., but Mistuxet Avenue is still closed. It goes right over the spillway from the dam at the mouth of the Mystic Reservoir.

The reservoir got so full Wednesday night Aquarion Water Co. was forced to open the gates at that dam. The water spilled right over the road, washing some of it away.

"Something had to be done and it was done following their plan that's been approved by (the Department of Environmental Protection), so I think the water company did, again, a great job," Brennan said.

All over town you see evidence of all the water that came down so fast in the last day. The parking lot of the Mystic Aquarium flooded yesterday, dried out, and then flooded again Thursday morning. Now it houses a new exhibit of ducks. They're the only ones not complaining about this weather.

"Back in the '70s we had some flooding like this," Brennan said. "This just hit us so fast."

"I've never seen this much rain in my life," Jimmy Culotta of Stonington said, "And this kind of flooding."

That flooding is not just on the roads, it's in basements. The fire department has been out pumping out water all morning.

To help pay for all the cleanup and repair costs, First Selectman Haberek is hoping to get some disaster aid from the state.

In Mystic Wednesday, the weather equipment at Cutler Middle School measured more than 6 1/2 inches of rain on Wednesday. Wheeler Middle/High Schools in North Stonington picked up 5 3/4 inches.

"That is almost double of what we typically expect for an entire month," WTNH Storm Team 8 Meteorologist Gil Simmons said.