The Connecticut River is receding back to its normal level.
“Like I said, it's looking much calmer out there today,” said David Papallo with Andrew’s Marina in Haddam. "We were out earlier, it’s definitely slowing down, we are feeling good about things.”
Papallo said the water got within six inches of one of his marina buildings. But now that it is receding, he is looking forward to a better end of the boating season.
“This is the first time we are seeing a light at the end of the tunnel," Papallo said.
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But with a falling river come new warnings to boaters.
Two of Papallo’s “No Wake Zone” buoys were dragged downstream. Those markers are critical for keeping boats in the marina safe.
“We were able to retrieve one of them, out here we pulled it back into position and over the weekend the state contracts it out and they were setting some of them," Papallo said.
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Over the course of the river flood, over 17 navigation buoys were moved, according to the Coast Guard. Many are back in place, but five remain missing.
The Coast Guard said they will be replacing the missing five as quickly as they can.
DEEP is also warning of damaged boat launches like the Haddam Meadows State Park Boat Launch. They will be removing and fixing that boat launch in the coming weeks.
Both the Coast Guard and DEEP are urging caution from boaters, saying the river is still elevated, debris is still coming downstream and the current in the river is still very strong.
The folks at Andrew’s Marina also sending a message.
“Caution. Caution and I would not be out there at night,” Papallo said. “There is still a lot of debris out there, it could be really dangerous.”
