Mayor Stewart is still $6M Short: Where is the money for the Allen St. Project? What Is Your Plan? Our Taxpayers Deserve Better Than This!
All of our recent flooding updates and narratives with photos, video interviews, documents, etc. are published on-line in the New Britain Progressive’s “Flooding Series”. Listen to and view our City Council Presentations on the City Web-Site… Go to newbritainct.gov. Click on government, common council, videos.
In December 2023, Mayor Stewart advised us to feel free to criticize the way she spends the taxpayer’s money. Per Stewart’s invitation, we have stepped up to voice our opinions regarding Stewart’s priorities and fiscal behavior.
Updated 9-23-25 Presentation #42: This updated record is being shared regarding the status of our neighborhood’s storm-sewer-sanitary system and the City and State Responses.
To: – Our Neighborhood Flooding and Sanitary Back-Up Victims
– Concerned Residents and Taxpayers
– City and State Officials
More debunked talking points:
1) Mayor Stewart and Alderperson Saavedra did not walk the Allen St. Neighborhoods with Sharon and I.
2) Attached is Mayor’s Stewart’s letter (dated 7-15-24) to the State Bonding Commission members Napoli and Piscopo recapping their visit (date 4-26-24) to Allen St. with Leader McNamara, Alderperson Saavedra and others.
3) Paragraph 4, details the State’s bonding arrangements with the required financial support from the City for the Allen St. Project. As you will read in Stewart’s letter, no amount of money was noted by State Rep’s Napoli and Piscopo during their visit and certainly there was no indication that the State would cover the entire Allen St. Project shortfall. The State did provide the City with a generous $2M Grant In Aid which we are grateful for.
4) The Allen St. Problem/Project remains a City Funding issue ($6M short) which has been neglected and mismanaged for 30 years, including 12 years on Stewart’s Watch.
Dear Mayor Stewart and Alderperson Saavedra,
Our city officials over the past 30 years have failed to upgrade the compromised Allen St. Storm-Sewer System. This includes 12 years on Stewart’s Watch. Our due diligence since 2023 has uncovered the facts. Remember, Mayor Stewart took office in 2013 with a nearly complete Cardinal Engineering Plan from Mayor O’Brien with a price tag of nearly $7M. Stewart chose to ignore O’Brien’s plan. The 2025 updated Cardinal Engineering Plan for Allen St. is now nearly $15M.
We have been proactive with the assistance of Majority Leader McNamara, making the required effort to appeal to Mayor Stewart’s good senses. Leader McNamara understands the peril our neighborhoods, blocks and properties are in. It seems that Mayor Stewart does not understand…If she did understand, common sense tells us, after 12 years in office she would have surely prioritized, fully funded and constructed the Allen St. Project.
As a reminder…We were invited by Stewart to voice our concerns regarding her priorities and her fiscal behavior. Our criticisms are fact based, as we have detailed for you in all of our narratives. Stewart wrote to us: “You are not kind to me and you will never be”. It’s difficult to be kind and joyful while our neighborhoods, blocks and properties are flooding. We are the victims; Not Stewart!
Why has Stewart failed to step up to fully fund and construct the Allen St. Project? Why has Stewart singled out all of us in the Allen St. Neighborhoods to suffer through these ongoing hazardous conditions?
Stewart’s allies sat in our living room repeating their mantra, “We have no money for the Allen St. Project”. Meanwhile, Stewart received hundreds of millions of earmark free dollars from our State and Federal Partners. The Allen St. Project was conveniently lost in the fiscal shuffle while Stewart prioritized other higher profile projects. Bottomline, no one was advocating for this critical project until we stepped up with Leader McNamara in 2023.
Now Stewart claims she has a $25M unassigned balance in the General Fund. Mayor Stewart, you are $6M short for the Allen St. Project. After 12 years, here is another opportunity for you to finally correct the Allen St. Infrastructure Problem.
Council Leaders McNamara, Santiago and Sanchez noted regarding Mayor Stewart’s recent proposal, “We welcome the availability of unaudited fund balances from the last fiscal year to allocate funds for the Board of Education, Tax Stabilization and needed capital improvements. The city, however, should use these general fund dollars to meet more urgent priorities other than the addition of more pickle ball courts at this time”.
As Alderperson Barbosa noted, “Spending with our limited resources should go to essential services and investments that directly improve the health and well being of residents.” “Democratic Council leaders said alternatives should be considered for using the $470,000 (pickle ball courts) that meet compelling needs in the community to prevent evictions, reduce food insecurity and improve streets and infrastructure in our neighborhoods”.
Stewart wrote memos, but never stepped up with the required determination to complete the stand alone Allen St. Project. As Stewart has noted; “The Allen St. Project is our most pressing need and Allen St. is a definite hazard”. As we have noted, Stewart continues to fail all of the taxpayers in New Britain. Meanwhile, the flooding, inflow, infiltration, cross connections and sanitary issues will continue costing all of us more money with each passing storm.
APX10 Consultants wrote, Inflow & Infiltration 101: What is it and why should waste water utilities care?
“Inflow and Infiltration refers to the unintended entry of groundwater and stormwater into sanitary sewer systems. While they are often grouped together, inflow and infiltration are two distinct sources of excess water in the system. Inflow occurs when water directly enters the collection system through improper or unauthorized connections. This can include open clean outs, faulty or missing man hole covers, sump pumps or drain spouts. Heavy rainfall and excessive surface runoff can also increase inflow”.
“Infiltration, by contrast, happens when groundwater seeps into the collection system through cracks, pipe defects, deteriorated joints and other openings. Infiltration tends to occur slowly, while inflow typically happens all at once, most often during periods of heavy rain or severe weather conditions”.
“I&I strains wastewater systems by increasing flow levels. When excess water enters the system, it reduces available capacity, increases the risk of sanitary sewer overflows and places additional stress on treatment plants”.
“In many cases, inflow and infiltration (I&I) accounts for 50% of the annual flow to treatment plants. This added volume means utilities may have to treat large amounts of clean water, an inefficient and costly process. It is estimated that I&I costs US Cities around $100B annually. This includes increased treatment and pumping costs, as well as costs associated with overflows, basement flooding and potential litigation. Simply put, a single leak can cost upwards of $10,000. in increased operational and treatment costs”.
“These financial and operational challenges highlight just how essential it is for utilities to address I&I at its source. Left unchecked, persistent I&I can force utilities to invest in costly infrastructure upgrades, divert resources from other critical needs, and even lead to regulatory penalties. Beyond the fiscal burden, communities may face property damage, environmental degradation and public health concerns when storm-sewer systems are pushed beyond their limits”.
As we all know, the Allen St. Problem is much more than 1 leak when you factor in the man made cross connections, flooding due to storm-sewer failures, sanitary back-ups and breaks due to insufficient capacity and the system’s age.
In 2023 Weston-Sampson Engineers declared, “The Allen St. Project must be a priority because the infrastructure is at crisis levels”. To date, Stewart has refused to Prioritize, Fully Fund and Construct the Allen St. Project.
The cause and effect is undeniable. Our taxpayers deserve better than this; Our quality of life continues to suffer, our safety continues to be in harm’s way and 50+ properties and structures are all at risk.
Again, why does Mayor Stewart continue to ignore the critical nature of the Allen St. Problem when she has the resources to construct the Allen St. Project now? Why are you choosing to ignore all of us in the Allen St. Neighborhoods? Mayor Stewart, you have the authority to correct these hazardous conditions and most importantly, it’s your responsibility to correct these hazardous conditions now.
Thank you.
F&S Chase
UPDATED 9-6-25 PRESENTATION #41: This updated record is being shared regarding the status of our neighborhood’s storm-sewer-sanitary system and the City and State responses.
To: -Our Neighborhood Flooding and Sanitary Back-Up Victims
-Concerned Residents and Taxpayers
-City and State Officials:
Mayor Stewart released her 2025 List of Projects in her Annual Message. The list included NB-FLUSH, Parks, Housing, Infrastructure, etc. Nothing was mentioned about the stand- alone Allen St. Storm-Sewer-Sanitary Project. Mayor Stewart is still $6M short for the Allen St. Project.
1) The Allen St. System serves 177 acres (per Cardinal Engineering) of developed, congested, commercial and residential properties. Intense rainfall inflows and infiltrates our compromised, underground infrastructure which floods and saturates our land. This flooding easily overwhelms our antiquated and undersized storm-sewer system and retention pond.
2) Our section of this acreage (50+ properties and structures) receives the brunt of the contaminated flooding water along with the sanitary back-ups and breaks. The elevated terrain in our area surges the uncontrolled flood water through our properties.
3) Remember… Our neighborhood, block and property are not in a designated flood zone. The contaminants in the flooding water include a toxic mix of bacteria, fecal matter, fats, motor oil, grease, etc. Our neighborhood resembles a primitive third world country during these flooding events because of the malfunctioning Allen St. storm-sewer-sanitary infrastructure. Our quality of life continues to suffer. Our taxpayers deserve better than this.
4) The compromised Allen St. Storm-Sewer System creates an open air cesspool on Allen St. and in the surrounding neighborhoods. Our properties are the TOILET BOWLS-CATCH BASINS where all of the contaminated flooding water gathers waiting for the rain events to end before receding. This is unacceptable, shameful and scandalous.
5) Water tables rise as flood water infiltrates and saturates our land. The resulting increased underground water pressure threatens our foundations and slabs. Factor in the related HIDDEN underground soil erosion, settling, shifting and potential sink holes, our foundations and slabs are at further risk. Our quality of life continues to suffer… Our taxpayers deserve better than this.
6) In 1995, Director Carilli determined with his engineers that the Allen St. Storm-Sewer System requires upgrades.
7) From 1995 to 2025, the record clearly shows how the Allen St. Problem has grown from a localized, small storm-sewer back-up to the neighborhood wide storm-sewer-sanitary flooding emergency that it is today.
8) Over the past 30 years, City Officials chose to kick the Allen St. Project down the road allowing the system to deteriorate further. City Official neglect and mismanagement has carried the day regarding the Allen St. Project. Flooding apprehension and distress are real health issues for all flooding and sanitary back-up and break victims. Our quality of life continues to suffer… Our taxpayers deserve better than this.
9) In 1997, Mayor Pawlak noted that we don’t want storm water infiltrating the sewage system because it needlessly increases the water volume treated at the Mattabassett Plant. This costs all New Britain taxpayers more money and the excessive storm water strains and overwhelms the Mattabassett Plant. New Britain connected to Mattabassett in 1976. HOW MANY WATER TREATMENT DOLLARS HAVE BEEN NEEDLESSLY WASTED OVER THE DECADES? Our taxpayers deserve better than this.
10) In 2012, Mayor O’Brien responsibly initiated the Cardinal Engineering Plan for the Allen St. Problem with an estimated cost of nearly $7M.
11) In 2013, Mayor Stewart took office and chose to ignore Mayor O’Brien’s Allen St. Plan. The 2025 updated Cardinal Engineering Plan for Allen St. with approvals will total nearly $15M.
12) Cardinal Engineers are the experts when it comes to challenging, municipal storm-sewer-sanitary upgrades. The Allen St. Upgrades/Improvements covers approximately 0.7 miles of Allen St. from Oak St. to Beacon St.
Here are some of the required long overdue Upgrades/Improvements:
- New 54″ to 66″ storm mains will be installed to replace the existing 24″ storm main from Dixon to Beacon.
- The sanitary sewer main will be upgraded from a 12″ pipe to a 24″ pipe.
- 2500′ of existing 100 year old water main will be replaced.
- Streetscape improvements include; trees, sidewalks, curbing, pavement, etc.
13) Through the years 2013-2025, Mayor Stewart described the Allen St. Project this way; “The Allen St. Project is our most pressing need. The Allen St. Project is critical to resolving chronic issues including flooding due to storm-sewer failures, sanitary back-ups and breaks due to insufficient capacity and the system’s age.”
14) Mayor Stewart also identified the antiquated storm-sewer cross connections on Allen St. These cross connections funnel storm water into the sewage system. THESE CROSS CONNECTIONS AND THE INFILTRATION NOTED BY MAYOR PAWLAK NEEDLESSLY COST ALL NEW BRITAIN TAXPAYERS MORE MONEY. Our taxpayers deserve better than this.
15) In 2018, Mayor Stewart refused our invitations (multiple times) to walk our neighborhood with us. Our lingering questions went unanswered, for example: “Do we need to upgrade the underground system along Allen St.?” STEWART and her REGIME went silent, this was the tell. Our quality of life continues to suffer. Our taxpayers deserve better than this.
16) We had 3 floods in 2018, the year we started tracking the flooding. Stewart wrote in her memos; “Allen St. is a definite hazard we hope to mitigate”. A true leader must possess the WILL and DETERMINATION to complete the required mitigation upgrades on behalf of their constituents. As we have noted, Stewart knew in 2013 that the Allen St. System was compromised. Writing memos does not get the job done. Our quality of life continues to suffer. Our taxpayers deserve better than this.
17) When the contaminated flooding water recedes, and during DRY SPELLS, the taxpayers and residents in the Belvedere Section of Ward 4 are conveniently forgotten by our City Officials. Our taxpayers deserve better than this.
18) 6 floods occurred in 2023 and 4 more in 2024. Weston-Sampson Engineers declared in 2023, “The Allen St. Project must be a priority because the infrastructure is at crisis levels”. To date, Mayor Stewart has refused to prioritize, fully fund and construct the Allen St. Project. Our quality of life continues to suffer… Our taxpayers deserve better than this.
19) Over the past 12 years, hundreds of millions of earmark free dollars have been funneled to Mayor Stewart from our State and Federal Partners. Not One Dollar was used to fully fund and construct the Allen St. Project. Our quality of life continues to suffer… Our taxpayers deserve better than this.
20) Once again, Mayor Stewart expects the State to bail her out. We have learned that our State Officials have offered a $2M grant in aid which we are grateful for. Mayor Stewart you are still $6M short for the Allen St. Project. Our quality of life continues to suffer… Our taxpayers deserve better than this. What is your plan? Where is the money?
21) Our City Officials have neglected and mismanaged the Allen St. Problem for over 30 years including 12 years on Mayor Stewart’s watch. Again, Mayor Stewart has noted during her years in office; “The Allen St. Project Is our MOST PRESSING NEED and Allen St. is a DEFINITE HAZARD.” Meanwhile, the flooding will continue with sanitary back-ups and breaks, and our quality of life will continue to suffer.
22) Along with thousands of extra water treatment dollars that our taxpayers have unknowingly paid out over the decades because of storm water infiltration and cross connections, we must include the thousands of dollars spent for BAND-AID repairs for the antiquated Allen St. storm-sewer-sanitary failures. Also, factor in the expensive updates to our aging Allen St. engineering plans and the reimbursements to our flooding victims for their damage claims.
23) In total, hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent needlessly. This does not include the hundreds of thousands of dollars spent by us and our neighbors to mitigate our properties hoping to avoid future catastrophic losses due to the flooding and sanitary back-ups. All of this is out of our control. OUR CITY OFFICIALS REFUSE TO REIMBURSE US FOR THESE MITIGATION EXPENSES. Meanwhile, our quality of life continues to suffer… Our taxpayers deserve better than this.
24) Because of City Official neglect and mismanagement, millions more dollars are now needed to construct the Allen St. Project in today’s dollars vs. 2013 dollars. All of this is fiscally irresponsible behavior with ongoing neglect. Meanwhile, our quality of life continues to suffer… Our taxpayers deserve better than this.
25) The cause and effect because of the neglected Allen St. Problem is clearly identified. Whether one home is flooding due to compromised infrastructure systems, or 50 properties or 100 properties, each case requires the maximum effort and full funding from our City Officials for these long overdue upgrades. Our quality of life continues to suffer… Our taxpayers deserve better than this.
26) We have debunked all of Stewart’s Allen St. talking points. There is no more time for fabricated deflections, delay tactics, fuzzy math, phony transfers and political distractions from our City Officials.
27) As we have clearly shown, Mayor Stewart has failed us and continues to fail all of us, the flooding and sanitary back-up and break victims in the Belvedere Section of Ward 4 and all of the taxpayers in New Britain. Our quality of life continues to suffer. Our taxpayers deserve better than this.
28) After 13 floods over the past 7 years, the 2025 Allen St. Plan is ready to go. Mayor Stewart: PRIORITIZE, FULLY FUND and START CONSTRUCTION of the Allen St. Project NOW.
29) Mayor Stewart, you report a General Fund Surplus of $34.9M, with $9.9M assigned and $25M UNASSIGNED. You are $6M short for Allen St. Step up and fully fund the Allen St. Project for the benefit of all New Britain taxpayers.
Mayor Stewart, you have the authority to correct these hazardous conditions and it’s your responsibility to correct these hazardous conditions. Our Taxpayers deserve better than this; Our quality of life continues to suffer, our safety continues to be in harm’s way and 50+ properties and structures are all at risk.
Thank you.
Frank and Sharon Chase
Allen St. Basin Flooding Photos:
Stanley-Roxbury-Newbury Typical Retention Pond Flooding.
Hampton-Eton Typical Flooding.
Newbury Typical Flooding.
24 Roxbury Typical Flooding.
