Bristol residents describe repeated basement and street flooding at city public meeting

City of Bristol public works staff heard repeated accounts of flooding across multiple neighborhoods at a community meeting where residents described years of basement, yard and road inundation.

Ray Rogozinski, director of public works, opened the meeting and said the session’s purpose was to gather firsthand reports to help consultants and city staff identify recurring trouble spots. "The purpose of this meeting is really to obtain information on flooding throughout the city directly from the residents," he said.

Several residents recounted decades of flooding and specific local problems. "We've been flooded at least probably 10 times in the years we've been there," said Steve Downey of 94 Frederick Street, who described water surrounding his house, three pumps running for two days after an event, and sand and debris building under a nearby bridge. Downey and others said recent development and added pavement appear to be increasing runoff into Copper Mine Brook and the Pequaback River.

Other residents described similar, localized impacts. "We get flooding probably two to three times a year, where we have about 12 inches of water," said Dave DeSopo, who lives adjacent to an elementary school swale on Ivy Drive and said flooding is moving closer to his house. Tony Macra of 225 Grama Street said a storm drain installed in his yard sits too high to capture runoff and that repeated wet conditions prohibit typical backyard improvements. "It stays wet back there," Macra said. Rita Fassie, who lives on Burge Road, told staff her basement and garage have flooded three or four times since she moved there.

Speakers also raised infrastructure and maintenance concerns: clogged storm drains, under-inspected culverts and brook channels, bridge crossings that may act as bottlenecks, and locations where silt has reduced channel capacity. Several residents recalled past federal buyouts and elevation projects and expressed frustration that older infrastructure, built decades ago, may not have been regularly inspected or upgraded.

The meeting produced specific local suggestions that city staff and consultants can follow up on, including regrading parking lots that receive runoff, adding catch basins between properties and public storm sewer inlets, installing backflow preventers, removing silt and debris in constrained bridge approaches, and targeted dredging or floodplain restoration to increase channel storage.

Ray Rogozinski said staff have recorded attendees’ names and addresses and will incorporate the reports into the consultant team’s mapping and prioritization work. He emphasized that some federal programs are tied to FEMA-defined flood elevations and may not meet every household’s needs, which leaves local projects and targeted maintenance as key near-term options.

The city will accept further input through an online survey and interactive map (see separate city posts) so residents who did not attend can add locations, photos and descriptions. The Department of Public Works said it will continue to share study updates on the city website.