From the looks of things it is going to be a long time before anyone paddles past this point without making a substantial portage. This first photo was taken in a spot where the river used to be. The river from all appearances is now dammed from the debri that constituted the parking lot, and the trees and mud that slid down a step, mostly treeless slope. Once the flood waters recede, we wonder what path the river will take, if any to meet the Mattabessett.
The next image provides a broader perspective. What you do not see here is the 2nd apartment that has the exposed foundation. That building is further to the right of this image.
A tractor was working below the exposed foundation that you can see here in this image. No reports to date have given any indication of how the remediation of this river bank will support the health and well being of the river nor has there been any mention of returning it to it's former state.
We tried to get around the mudslide, but it was not going to happen today unless we walked up and over. We guessed it was too wet and muddy to give that a try. The Coginchaug River is part of the cities green corridor.
It flows toward the Boggy Meadow (also called Cromwell Meadows) a rare 400 acre freshwater tidal marshland (most tidal marsh's are saltwater), that provides a diverse and unique ecosystem, at the confluence of the Mattabesset River just 1500 meters downriver of Tuesday's mudslide.
Needless to say, this mud slide presents a grave danger to the health of an extremely precious and rare habitat downstream, the lower Coginchaug and Floating Meadows (a.k.a Boggy Meadows or Cromwell Meadows) the only freshwater tidal wetland of its size in the state. These wetlands clean water from the Coginchaug and Mattabesset Rivers, both degraded from run-off from streets and other sources upstream, before they discharge into the CT River and Long Island Sound.
ReplyDeleteOn more than one occasion massive trees have blocked this river, beaver have blocked this river and the river always wins and finds a new channel and produces new habitat. I would argue the Boggy Meadow itself is the result of many channel obstructions over thousands of years and the result is one of the richest habitats in CT.
ReplyDeleteGod directed the channel right at the steep slope for a reason and now the river is spreading out and going around and making new habitat over on the Vetrinarians and the Water Dept property. he works in mysterious ways.
Men with bulldozers building a road down in there and "re-making" a channel with block walls is not the way to proceed, leave it alone.
I would love to hear that the Inland Wetlands Commission took a similar trip to see the river and wetland devastation. We need to hear that a plan of action is being developed. Great reporting!
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