‘Infrastructure Crisis’ Exposed by Flooding in Mass.

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(TNS) – Michelle Groves, a North Adams resident, said that during this week’s flooding, water was diverted into her backyard, causing damage to her basement and belongings.

The water, Groves said, flowed continuously for five hours and crossing it felt like she was white water rafting.

“It’s horrifying. It really is. The water was coming through here so fast and it was slowly eroding away. I was having a nervous breakdown because I thought for sure this whole corner of my house was just going to go,” Groves said, describing the water from flooding next to her family home.

Groves and others met with Mass. Gov. Maura Healey on Wednesday as part of visits to the state’s most devastated areas.Among them was North Adams Mayor Jennifer Macksey who said the water on Groves’ road was closed off to drivers, with water rising up to the height of her hips. She claimed the flood exposed an “infrastructure crisis.”

“Governor, we just need help. We need help from the state and the federal level, not only to rebuild what we’ve seen today, but also to work on long term fixes throughout our community and it’s something that we’ve talked about. As all of you know, North Adams has an infrastructure crisis we’ve talked about for a long time, and we need resources put behind us to help us with that,” Macksey said to the governor, speaking over a manhole which collapsed due to flooding on State Street in North Adams.

Healey visited parts of the state and spoke with public officials and residents most affected by the flooding on Wednesday, and said the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency is still assessing the flood’s damage and will determine what funding might look like over the coming weeks.

The assessment is expected to be completed next week.

Healey said she is committed to trying to find ways to address the needs of Massachusetts cities, towns and residents — especially those who face particular challenges such as smaller towns with less resources and funding.

Healey acknowledged the serious infrastructure issues the Commonwealth faces.

“The point about infrastructure is really something that we take seriously and understand. When you have aging and old infrastructure and then you have an incident, it really compounds things. And so we need to find a way to work together to get the relief done,” said Healey.

The flooding across Massachusetts has caused many to evacuate their homes as well as caused damage to homes and people’s belongings. Farms have been especially impacted, according to Healey, who took a helicopter ride to Williamsburg to assess the damage.

Healey noted the amount of sediment — shown in the brown color of the Connecticut River — and erosion across the Commonwealth with some fields covered in water.

A dozen towns and cities declared local emergencies since Monday and various bridges and roads across the Commonwealth have been forced to close, including Route 5 in Northampton and Easthampton.

Dawn Brantley, director of the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, said Williamsburg, Goshen, North Adams and Adams are some of the places in the Commonwealth that have been most impacted by flooding.

“I am so sorry for the problems the pain that people are experiencing, and some have experienced real true devastation in terms of loss of crops, loss of livelihood, potential loss of jobs, with all of that as we’re going to have to rebuild and recover,” Healey said.

At each of the stops in Williamsburg and North Adams, Healey spoke with residents who were impacted by the flooding.

Groves, the North Adams resident, said she hasn’t seen anything this bad in the last 10 years.

Groves has been using her vacation time to assess the damage and get the water out of her basement which still has five to six inches in it.

Brantley told the governor that the mitigation unit is scheduled to meet with North Adams next week.

“Sometimes disasters will help identify new needs and new areas for mitigation. And that’s one of the things we’ll be talking to them about next week is what what did you see, how can we work together to address it,” Brantley said.

Macksey said although American Rescue Plan Act funding was helpful for addressing some of the city’s issues, she said it is the “tip of the iceberg” of the funding that needs to be given to the city, especially with their decaying infrastructure.

Macksey voiced her concern for the city’s water and sewer lines as well as several gas problems which have emerged from the flooding. She said the city also needs five new storm water systems.

State Sen. Paul Mark, who attended each stop of Healey’s visit across Williamsburg and North Adams, said although the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency did a great job of working with cities and towns in a timely way to help those most impacted by the flooding, the state wasn’t prepared with how the flooding could impact farms.

Mark said programs need to be established to better prepare for crises such as this one but didn’t provide specifics.

With the potential for upcoming rain, Mark said he is worried how the state will fare.

“I’m worried about some of the current problems, either getting reignited or getting exacerbated. And then with farms that maybe they’re just starting to dry out, if they if they get flooded again in the next couple of days that might be what breaks the season for them,” Mark said.

Healey said the flooding may happen more frequently with climate change.

“I think, unfortunately, what we know is that we are going to see more and more severe weather incidents, which is why we as a state — I think we as an administration — have really prioritized that we’ve got to do this work,” Healey said.