Agency of Natural Resources Secretary Julie Moore (right) joined Sen. Welch (center) and Hardwick Town Manager David Upson (left) during Sen. Welch’s visit to Hardwick on July 17. Sen. Welch suggested FEMA might best serve a purpose in the immediate aftermath of flooding and more local control might speed up work and the funding process for longer-term solutions and future mitigation of severe flooding events. Moore suggested that the way ARPA funds were allocated during the Covid-19 pandemic offered a good template for how funds can be distributed locally, while still meeting federal requirements.
Vermont Senator Peter Welch (left) visited Hardwick’s Civic Standard for lunch on Wednesday, July 17, just a week after flooding, that was only slightly less damaging than flooding a year earlier to the day. Sen. Welch shared his hopes for streamlining the FEMA process for planning projects and allocating federal funds for future natural disasters. Vermont Agency of Natural Resources Secretary Julie Moore (center) and the Civic Standard’s Rose Friedman listen to Sen. Welch.
An orange pump, now handling the needs of Hardwick’s sewage treatment plant, was brought in quickly by Town Manager David Upson, limiting the discharge of raw sewage into the Lamoille River to just a few hours; much less than after the flood a year earlier. Dark lines on the wall July 17, show the height water reached at the plant, with the higher ones being from the July 10, 2023, flood and the lighter line, about 6 inches lower, being from this year’s July 10 and July 11 July 11 flooding. Hardwick’s sewage treatment lagoons were held so damage at the plant was limited to electrical equipment and what Town Manager David Uopson called “headend equipment” that includes pumps. Upson recently met with Governor Phil Scott and hopes for funding of $20 million to protect the plant and equipment in future flood events.
Vermont Senator Peter Welch (left) and Hardwick Town Manager David Upson view the Riverside Farm Lane bridge abutments which once supported a bridge to the farm. They now stand alone on the bank of the Lamoille River since the bridge washed away
in the July 10 and 11 flooding.
Riverside Farm’s Bruce Kaufman ( shares his experience of 39 years farming along the Lamoille River in East Hardwick with Senator Peter Welch during his July 15 visit to Hardwick. Kaufman lost three acres of crops valued at roughly $25,000 and four acres of land that washed away. Kaufman had planted fewer crops along the river this year than in 2023 and lost considerably less than the previous year’s flood, where his estimated loss had been in he $50,000 to $60,000.range.
Timbers from the Riverside Farm Lane bridge rest in the Lamoille River on July 17 after they were washed off their abutments during severe flooding on July 10 and 11. Riverside Farm owner Bruce Kaufman said this year’s flooding was more severe than any in the previous 39 years he’s been farming there. He has farmed on both sides of the former bridge and now uses the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail to access his home and barn. Kaufman says he plans to abandon the river bottom land and plant only on higher ground after two years of flooding in which he lost crops.
Paul Fixx is editor of The Hardwick Gazette and lives in Hardwick.
