People in New Britain neighborhood prone to flooding keep an eye on Friday's storm

Some New Britain residents are bracing once again for possible flooding. There have been multiple flood conditions in the Roxbury and Newbury Street area this year and with rain in the forecast Friday, there are concerns.

During a town council meeting Wednesday night, some New Britain residents spoke out about the flooding issue plaguing their neighborhood.

“It’s sort of a low-lying area and we’ve been having ongoing flooding ever since I moved in there 12 years ago,” Peg Messerschmidt said.

During Wednesday’s meeting, a $4 million drainage project, on nearby Allen Street, was unanimously approved. It’s something Frank Chase said is a good start, but he would like to see the project expanded to also include the Hampton Eaton drainage system, and he’d like to see it done immediately.

“We can’t wait anymore. These projects cannot be delayed. They need to be done now,” Chase said.

The immediate need stems from recent events where the intersection of Roxbury Road and Newbury Street has flooded multiple times.

“When it rains, you can hear it start to brew up,” James Palmer said. “You can see it start to form on the streets. It looks more and more like a river than a street.”

Palmer said this has been the situation throughout the summer, often resulting in property damage.

“When we go downstairs, we see tons of stuff in the basement seeping through,” he said, explaining that he’s also had damage to his car.

Chase said he’s experienced more than $6,000 in damage because of flooding and knows how bad it could get, once again, with Friday’s forecast for heavy rain.

“I have to wear knee-high boots to wade through this area. That’s how deep it gets,” Chase said.

Now, with a very wet Friday forecast, people in this neighborhood are bracing for more rain.

“It means I’m going to start needing to get prepared,” Palmer said. “I have to start going downstairs. I have to start putting towels down. I need to move my car someplace else.”