1. Tropical Storm Irene
Impact on Buckland &
Planning Efforts in the
Deerfield River Watershed
MAPD Conference
June 7, 2012

2. Challenges Faced By Local Officials
 Mostly volunteer decision makers
 Not enough money to meet local needs
 No professional planning or engineering staff
 Little if any training to “do it right”
 Emergency repair funding with strings attached
 FEMA
 NRCS
 MassDOT

3. Deerfield River - August 28, 2011
Iron Bridge in Shelburne Falls Water flow gauge in Charlemont

4. During and After on Conway Street
Looking northwest toward village
center and Iron Bridge
Looking northwest toward Ann Brauer’s
relocated Quilt Shop

5. Conway Street
Infrastructure destruction Very strong fire hydrant

6. Clesson Brook Road
New path for Clesson Brook Large chunks of road missing

7. Old Hawley Road Bridge
Is now an island
Significant debris loading
against bridge caused both
approaches to wash away,
widening the brook
Estimated cost to replace
bridge in the half million
dollar neighborhood
FEMA will pay to remove,
but may not pay to fix or
replace the bridge

8. Shepard Road
Side hill location with steep
drop to brook.
Lots of ledge makes it
difficult to install drainage
pipe.
Existing drainage quickly
plugged and overwhelmed.

9. Buckland’s Post-Irene Challenges
 Initial costs estimated between $6.2 million (by
FEMA/MEMA PDA team) and $30 million (by engineer).
 25% local share at least $1.5 million (total FY13 non-
school budget = $1.7 million)
 Many roads impassable
 Residents cut off – many with no electricity or phones
 Need to open roads ASAP for emergency vehicles
 Make quick repairs that are affordable without good cost
estimates.
 Impending winter weather

10. What We Did / Are Doing
 Opened roads quickly for emergency access
 Hired an engineering firm to assess the damage,
estimate costs and recommend fixes
 Briefed our Legislators
 Worked with MEMA / FEMA / NRCS / MassDOT
 Took heat from residents for not moving as fast as some
of our neighbors
 Completed 11 NRCS projects before Christmas
 Negotiated the MassDOT Emergency Repair program
 Continue to try to figure out FEMA

11. Clesson Brook Road: A Quick Case Study
Culvert washed out in 1999
and again in 2005 (slightly
increased culvert size).
Significant silt loading in
Clesson Brook.
Engineer suggested adding
an overflow pipe to handle
high water events.
Permitting authorities would
not allow any solution other
than an open bottom box
culvert.
Cost estimate at $100,000
for box culvert vs. less than
$1,000 for overflow pipe.

12. NRCS Project in 1999 – Survived Irene
Culvert plugged and road
washed out in Tropical
Storm Floyd
Solution was to assume
future overflow events and
armor the overflow area
NRCS designed, permitted
and built the project. Town
happily paid 25%
Water again came over the
road during Irene, but road
did not wash out.

13. Deerfield River Watershed Project
 Steering committee with representation from local, state,
& federal government entities as well as several not-for-
profits – Led by Carolyn Ness of Deerfield, under the
Franklin Conservation District umbrella
 “Planning Today to Build Resilient Communities
Tomorrow”
 Focused on the entire Deerfield River watershed
 Networking across Massachusetts, New England and
New York
 Working with legislators and various agencies for funding

14. Steering Committee Goal
 Help local officials acquire the tools, information and
funding they need to make good decisions about
infrastructure improvements:
 Both before and after a flooding event
 To reduce future storm damage to infrastructure, and
 Provide benefits to river and stream ecosystems.

15. More Info?
Bob Dean
Selectman, Town of Buckland
and
Director of Regional Services,
Franklin Regional Council of Governments
(413) 774-3167, ext. 108
BDean@frcog.org