July 11, 2024 | By Lisa Scagliotti

For those who managed to get some sleep, Vermonters woke up to yet another flooding disaster today. The number of roads with washouts and closures is staggering.

We are collecting information from a variety of sources and will update this post throughout the day, so check back. New information will note the time of the update.

If you are headed to areas that are in the flood zone, call ahead. Many businesses are closed and dealing with flooding.

Send us your closures/cancellations and photos via email to waterburyroundbout@gmail.com.

SIGN UP FOR FRIDAY!

Here is the SignUp Genius link to help out on Friday, July 12.

To get on CReW’s volunteer list for messages and information beyond this afternoon, please sign up here. Email questions to: volunteer@thecrewvt.org

2 p.m. Duxbury Emergency Selectboard Meeting

Link here to the meeting agenda and photos of road damage. We will report on the main points from this as well.

Request help/Find help

Flood response volunteer coordinators have returned to the town website a page with Flood Response Resources. At the top of the town website homepage, find the link. The page it lands on contains a document with a list of various resources for dealing with flooding damage and cleanup.

One key first step to receiving help is to fill out the short form from CReW to be added to the list for volunteers to assist with cleanup tasks. CReW is the long-term flood recovery group that pivots to flood response when needed. It stands for Community Resilience for the Greater Waterbury Area and was formed to help residents and businesses in Waterbury, Duxbury, Moretown and Bolton with flood recovery and rebuilding.

Organizers also recommend that people report their damage to Vermont 211 which collects data that will be used to determine disaster declarations for the state overall. Find the online form for that reporting here.

Call for volunteers - 2:30 p.m. today

Folks looking for ways to help with the flood response can start this afternoon.

CReW invites volunteers to check in with them at the Municipal Building at 2:30 p.m. for a three-hour shift (or whatever you can do). Have gloves, maybe a headlamp, walking shoes or muck boots for doing assessments and other tasks at flood-affected sites.

*Deja vu: Elm Street at 5:15 a.m. Photo by Tom Stevens*

WATERBURY

Waterbury Select Board will meet at noon in the Steele Room at the town offices and via Zoom. Link to join online is in the agenda here.
Waterbury Congregational Church (white meeting house) is open as an emergency shelter for anyone who needs a spot as a home base today.
The town has pumps and dehumidifiers. Contact CReW via phone at 802-585-1152 (leave a message and they will call you back) or via email outreach@thecrew.org to schedule.
A vactor truck is on the way and can assist in getting mud out of basements.
Waterbury Sumer Rec Camp was closed Thursday but plans to reopen Friday. Recreation Director Katarina Lisaius said the program would work around not using the Wesley United Methodist Church which was flooded. Damage was not extensive and the campers likely will be able to return to the site relatively soon, she said.
TOWN POOL: Will be open Friday and Saturday free of charge for Waterbury and area residents from Duxbury, Bolton and Moretown. Use the pool. Use the showers. Hours Friday: 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; Saturday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. More pool information is here.

*Culvert in “the dip” on Shaw Mansion Road. Photo by Cheryl Casey*

There are many road closures. Water is receding this morning and crews need to assess damage in many places. This list will be updated at the Select Board meeting at noon.

Here’s what we know was closed from this morning:

Main Street near the roundabout; the roundabout is closed
Downtown: Union Street, Randall and Elm Streets, Lincoln Street Extension
Shaw Mansion Road by the dip; Henry Hough; gravel portion of Blush Hill Road is one lane
Southern side of Gregg Hill Road (near Guild Hill Road intersection with Rt. 100)

*U.S. Rt. 2 looking west at Farr’s Field. Photo by Laura Hardie*

DUXBURY

Duxbury Selectboard Chair Richard Charland sent out the message below to town residents this morning. Currently those in need of assistance are being asked to contact CReW in Waterbury via email at outreach@thecrewvt.org or phone 802-585-1152 (leave a message).

List of Duxbury roads that are closed/compromised. This may not be complete. Efforts are focused on getting one lane open on these roads. Initial estimates are $2 million of damage in Duxbury alone.

Crossett Hill Road, Ward Hill, Dowsville Road, Rt 100B bridge is completely compromised
Atwood, Stevens Brook, Pollandar, Devlin, Webster, Wescott, River Road, Duxbury Road

From Duxbury Selectboard:

Unfortunately, the remnants of Beryl were much more than that. The rain we were presented during the afternoon and evening yesterday were nothing like the deluge that we received into the night. We have yet to completely survey where the town stands, here is a preliminary assessment, a more detailed one will be sent out once we’ve been out.

Dowsville Rd has 2 major problems: 2 culverts on the upper end have failed and the road is closed from approximately 2/3 of the way up.
Stephens Brook Rd has 2 failures, one above and one below Myra Perry’s home.
Crossett Hill Rd has a number of failures, mainly above Devlin Rd, above where Crossett and Pollander meet. Not sure what the status of the south end is.
Morse Rd was totally blocked last night, not sure what remains.
Culvert failure on River Rd between Hart Rd and the Winooski Street bridge.
Marshall Rd and Mountainview were rivers last night, not sure how Scrabble Hill survived the flow dumped on it.
There are many roads affected by washouts along the edges and many are down to one lane.
Route 100 and 100B are both closed at bridges spanning the Dowsville Brook, significant sections of 100 are washed out on each side of the road.
Foad Foreman Brian Gibbs has located three contractors with equipment on or near Ward Hill and they will be trying to provide access.

CANCELLATIONS & CLOSURES

This list will be updated. Please email news of cancellations and closures to waterburyroundabout@gmail.com

Tonight’s work party with Waterbury Area Trails Alliance (WATA) is called off.
Tonight’s Concert in the Park is canceled.
Farmers market is on for now unless vendors cancel.
Candidate forum with candidates for the House primary scheduled for Huntington tonight is called off and may be rescheduled.
Waterbury Public Library children’s event with Mr. Chris is canceled
Valley Players Spamalot performance in Waitsfield tonight is canceled
Arts Fest on Friday-Saturday this weekend is ON according to organizers at 11 a.m.

Flooded again | July 11