nothin New Haven Independent | Jarvis Creek Marsh Becomes a Lab

Jarvis Creek Marsh Becomes a Lab

Bill Horne Photo

It was raining and the wind was strong from the south. The tide was near the top of the tide range for this lunar cycle, but that would not have been enough to cause this much flooding,” said Bill Horne as he recalled grabbing his camera to capture the scene at the Jarvis Creek marsh. 

Bill Horne Photo

Horne, one of the town’s leading environmentalists, said homeowners and motorists who live near or travel on Leetes Island Road between Stony Creek and Guilford know all too well the extremes of unexpected flooding, especially if the wind come up from the South. 

Bill Horne Photo

Shortly before the Thanksgiving holiday when a serious rain storm fell, Horne set out to take photos of a storm surge as it flooded Jarvis Creek Marsh and Leetes Island Road, a state scenic road known as Route 146. During 2011 and 2012, when Branford and other seashore towns experienced a number of serious storms, Jarvis Creek was often flooded.

Now it floods far more often. Over the past year Horne has sought to find out why.

Without an understanding of the hydrology of the system, however, determining the best solutions is difficult,” he said.

Bill Horne Photo

Horne says coastal communities are seeking ways to handle flooding from greenhouse gas-driven increases in sea level and the prediction of more frequent severe storms. The CT Mirror recently chronicled the changes in Connecticut’s wildlife in the last decade, especially near drowned marshes. Click here to read the story. 

Bill Horne Photo

These motorists happened to be on Leetes Island Road when the tide and the wind and the rain converged. They were at the Jarvis Creek marsh, not far from the Guilford town line, when water surged over the road.

The Jarvis Creek area includes Medlyn’s, one of Branford’s last farms, an old tide gate, a unique marsh-coastal forest ecosystem, a Branford Land Trust walking trail and a designated State Scenic Road (Route 146/Leetes Island Road).

Here is how one pick-up truck appeared as it made its way through the road. (See top photo).

The Jarvis Creek road was buried under water. 

Bill Horne Photo

Horne’s camera found a limo headed through the waves into Guilford.

Horne said this is the norm we are moving toward.” So far there has been no property damage per se he said, but that might not always be the case.

The Branford Land Trust (BLT) is now partnering with the town’s Conservation and Environmental Commission (CEC) to identify coastal resiliency solutions for the Jarvis Creek marsh. They are joined by scientists from the University of Connecticut and the Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation (CIRCA), Horne said.

Bill Horne Photo

When the formation of CIRCA was announced last year, Horne said the BLT saw this as an opportunity to conduct a study of this site and began discussions with the Institute and with CT DEEPThe project was accepted as one of the Institute’s first projects and a test study for similar coastal resiliency projects statewide.” Here is the Amtrak Bridge curve.

In October, 2014, members of the BLT and the Institute discussed a study design and scouted sites for deploying instruments to measure water levels and velocity. The instruments were placed at the site that month.

Here is BLT Director Dr. Pete Raymond as he deployed sensors to detect road flooding. The town’s CEC, led by chair Karyl Lee Hall, purchased four instruments in order to measure salinity and air pressure and other functions in and around the Jarvis Creek area. In addition, instruments were placed in the irrigation pond at Medlyn Farm and next to Rt. 146 to obtain data on storm impact on these community assets,” Horne said. 
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