In January 2008, I was taking photos along the Coginchaug River when I looked up and saw Carabetta Apartments, perched high above the ravine on what appeared to be fairly loose clay fill. I climbed to the top and took another photo at closer range, showing the clay that had obviously been bulldozed to expand the property's "buildable" surface area. I wasn't sure what to make of the drain pipe taking run-off down the slope. While I was snapping the 2nd picture, someone came out of the apartment building and asked me in an angry tone why I was taking pictures. I wondered if some building regulation had been violated in this project.
7 comments:
Not that I'm an expert on erosion, but I am a bit confused about this article. It says you looked up on the ridge and saw Carabetta's apartments, but you show a picture of Charton Apartments. In your picture you show what is mud and or clay. You go on to suggest that maybe someone did something "questionable" in the approval process.
Obviously not being an erosion expert, I do offer that maybe having grass or some other vegetation which would have held the hill better might have been in the owners best interest. Suggesting someone in the City did something wrong however is very much liable. I'm pretty sure the Army Core of Engineers, or the DEP will issue their findings. Lets try and wait till then to brand someone with blame.
Just some friendly advise as every single property owner/developer is issued certain specifications which meet code that should be addressed. Some owners choose to ignore them. I would be careful on who's to blame. You may not like that this owner recieved the approvals, but he did what was necessary to gain the boards approval.
Is there a suggestion in these observations that "someone in the City did something wrong"?
Sorry, I made a mistake on the name of the apartments. But I didn't blame anyone or suggest who might have made a bad decision. It just seemed like a mudside waiting to happen, and that was over 2 years ago.
A minister trying to assign blame to gods work.
Lets not forget that Carabettas apartments sit on top of that very same slope as Chartons. This a natural 1:1 slope that has been there for thousands of years as the river cut its way through, much like a canyon on a smaller scale.
I also kayake the river and have watched for over 20 years. The back apartments have been there on top of a 1:1 slope for 45 years, the front apartments have been there for almost 25 years. Charton added fill near the back apartment building to add on but just in that area. The entire slope gave way.
This is simply extreme flooding cutting way into the bottom of the slope and boom the top slumps and I am an erosion expert.
I'm sorry John, I reread your post, you did not place any blame. My apologies.
RE: Anonymous Sun 8:56.
The building furthest away from the hill was built in 1989. The building with the exposed foundation was built in 1964 BUT an addition was add in 2007, and that addition know has an exposed foundation.
I'm not a scientist of any kind. That does not mean that important questions regarding the health of the River should not raised by the common man. God helps those who help themselves.To me that means you cannot take him or his work for granted or assume it was part of his plan. God has no plan, he lets us, make ours and he lets us make mistakes as we go. Now this is just my opinion, that maybe that addition to the building in 2007, was not a good idea. I do not think science can tell us one way or another for sure if that addition so close to the slope,led to the mudslide, but I think it is worth considering, so that next times lives are not lost, when something is built up too close to a natural 1:1 slope. We cannot assume the river ecosystem will restore on it's own. I just want to know that a knowledgeable scientist has examined the destruction, and done an anyalisis to determine the best course of action IF any, so that the health of the eco system can stay in tack.
Anonymous 8:56 said:
I also kayake the river .
--> This is Tim Roaix, Outside of not spelling kayak properly, all you have to do is compromise the slope and it will collapse. I moved to Middletown three years ago and am a "recent" paddler on the Matabasset rivershed but when I saw these buildings sticking out into the ravine, I asked "What the Heck"? Well, now we know.
As part of a wonderful kayak paddle, I spent 30 minutes on Saturday on the river watching the earth-moving machines. Not to be presumptious, but all they are doing is moving earth. There is no way they can shore up a collapsed ravine that has has been here since the ice age and was undermined a few years ago with the expansion of the complex. If we have another rain storm this week, all that weak earth will just drop into the already degraded river.
At first, I thought that if I and some others went to the river with our chain-saws we might be able to cut a channel into the river, but it's worse than that. As the pictures ctladycyclist posted, the river is (damned).
Peace. Bikes. Tim.
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