WCAX - Brattleboro completes floodplain restoration project

Published: Oct. 30, 2024 at 6:46 AM EDT|Updated: 17 hours ago

BRATTLEBORO, Vt. (WCAX) - Brattleboro officials Wednesday held a ribbon cutting for the completion of several years of works to restore the floodplain along Whetstone Brook.

As the soothing sound of the Whetstone Brook fills the air just outside downtown Brattleboro, a crowd gathered to celebrate the completion of the newly restored flood plain.

“Now, the Whetstone has the ability to access this flatter area back here, it’s an actual natural floodplain,” said Erin DeVries with the Vermont River Conservancy. She says it is designed to prevent the kind of flooding during Tropical Storm Irene that wreaked havoc on downtown Brattleboro. “It would protect the infrastructure, the houses the buildings just downstream of here.”

The work started in August of 2023. Trees and bushes were planted this past spring. Hazard mitigation funds from FEMA paid for the majority of the $1.3 million project.

“Oftentimes it’s not just purchasing the property, but it is some sort of restoration. In this case, removing contaminated materials but also digging down to actually create those flood storage benefits,” said Vt. Natural Resources Secretary Julie Moore.

The land used to be a staging area for a logging operation. It will now be gifted back to the town and open to the public. “It’s a flood plain, it’s a natural area, it’s a park, It’s a place for people to relax and enjoy the outdoors. It is really a great spot for Brattleboro,” said Brattleboro Town Manager John Potter.

And while the work comes with a hefty price tag, officials say it will save this community money down the road. “What it accrues is avoided loss. So, it is a little bit harder to measure but it doesn’t make this work any less important,” Moore said.

State officials say it’s a model that can be replicated in other flood-prone communities across the region.

https://www.wcax.com/2024/10/30/brattleboro-completes-flood-resiliency-project/