Slush and ice: February very wet

Heavy rains and melting snows have combined to flood roads and basements throughout the region, creating headaches for motorists and homeowners in the Northwest Corner and neighboring New York.

The National Wather Services issued seemingly constant flood watches for this area from Feb. 12,through Feb. 18, including a flood warning Monday along sections of the Housatonic River. The river was expected to rise half a foot above flood stage in Falls Village by Tuesday evening.

Flood waters were expected to reach Riverside Road at Kent School in Kent and the picnic area along Route 7 near Housatonic Meadows State Park on Route 7 in the town of Sharon.

Perhaps to the surprise of few, the National Weather Service has declared this month the rainiest February on record. On Wednesday, Feb. 13, as much as 2 inches of rain fell on the region. But on Monday, after another soaker, 7.5 inches of rain had fallen at Bradley International Airport this month, surpassing the previous record of 7.3 inches in 1981. Normal rainfall for February is only 1.8 inches.

David Seney, the fire chief in Falls Village, said that despite the heavy rains and melting snows, in the last several days there has only been one call for a basement pumping in his town. No roads in Falls Village were impassable, but water covered parts of Route 63 and Cobble Road - two areas that are perpetually at risk for flooding.

A trouble spot in North Canaan was back in the news. It's the first spot to flood and the last to drain along Sand Road. The puddle that forms about a quarter mile north of the town line is caused by a steep hillside that sends water pouring into a spot with a high water table at low elevations. It simply has nowhere to go, and at night, it ices over.

"It's not going to drain when we get these two-inch rainfalls," North Canaan First Selectman Douglas Humes said this week. "This has been an unusual winter. I've had residents tell me they have gotten water in their basements for the first time ever."

Years ago, the town installed a dry well system in that area to collect water underground, as well as a drain pipe. The drain pipe will only be effective as long as ground water is down. Humes said torrential rains of this winter have likely filled the dry well with silt. In the spring, when water levels recede, the town crew will clean out the well and look at other possible ways to drain the site.

Flooding caused an accident on Route 112 in Lakeville Monday. Heather Nocera, 22, of Millerton, was driving east when her compact car entered a pool of water that covered half the highway. She hydroplaned off the road and onto property at Town Hill Farm. Her car became partially submerged in flooding on the farm and had to be hauled out with a wrecker. Nocera, who was uninjured, was given a written warning for failure to maintain the proper lane, police said.

The water seemed to be everywhere. On Saturday morning, the Lakeville Hose Company was called to the home of John Fitch on Salmon Kill Road. Fitch called for help after water entering his basement was threatening to submerge his furnace.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Millerton Fire Department received a call to respond to the Lucas residence on Old Post Road, where 5 feet of water had to be pumped out of the basement. The Amenia Fire Company was called in to assist.