Hope is on the horizon for those living along Jobs Pond in Portland, as a plan is in the works to pump out the water that’s at extremely high levels and has been flooding homes in the area for months.
We first brought you residents’ concerns back in March, when water levels rose several feet over the course of a few months. Now, the pond has left some homes submerged in water.
Eight residents so far have had no choice but to leave their homes behind. One said he’s living in a motel. His home is cut off from power, and he’s lost personal items like family photos.
Another has moved his dock up to the side of his house to better access his home, since his stairs are underwater.
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Those who have stayed have sump pumps running around the clock, racking up electricity bills over $600.
“You just feel so helpless, like there’s nothing you can do,” said Ellen Mantel, a longtime resident of Jobs Gate 1. “We've put in hundreds and hundreds of sandbags to try to keep the water at bay, to keep it from bubbling up through the floors, but it finds its way.”
Mantel spoke to the physical and emotional toll the situation has taken on the neighborhood, which consists mostly of older, retired people.
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“We come every day, put on our waders, we slog through the water, we check the hoses, [spend] thousands of dollars in equipment and power and just hours have gone into trying to keep this at bay. It's just unbelievable,” Mantel said.
There’s now a glimmer of hope on the horizon. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service has come up with a plan to pump out water from the pond into the nearby Connecticut River.
Last week, Portland First Selectman Ryan Curley said he got word that federal funding has been secured for the project, but not entirely. The rest of the cost, 25% of it, would need to be made up by the state or town.
“We're three-fourths of the way there now with funding so we're really encouraged by that, so now we're looking at that 25% and getting that for the residents here,” Curley said.
He said he’s optimistic that they’ll have the funds soon, and the next step is to get the temporary easement agreements for the land the pump-out will impact. The land, from the pond to the river, is mostly owned by Eversource and the YMCA, Curley said.
“What [the NRCS] plans to do is install two pumps, they're gonna be very large pumps, they're diesel-operated, from what I understand, and they're going to be able to pump 5,000 gallons of water a minute, each one. So, we're talking 10,000 gallons a minute out of Jobs Pond once we can get these pumps in place.”
Long-term, a permanent fix will be determined, which could include digging a pipeline to a retention pond or the river, and once the pond raises to a certain level, the water would be automatically drained.
“We do see a bit of hope, thankfully, the federal government has come through with their portion, and you know with all of the good folks pushing for the state funding we're hopeful that something will come through soon,” Mantel said.
But with more rain in the forecast this week and water levels rising every day, it’s a race against the clock, and it’s unclear when the project would be started.
"It's disheartening that it takes so long, and in our world every day, every hour is long. I know in state government, a day, a month a year is rapid movement but unfortunately for us, it's just agonizing,” Mantel said. “We do worry about having to wait weeks and more weeks, months. They have been moving as quickly as they can, in many cases, probably faster, than would normally happen so that's encouraging."
