Waters receding, but Arlington still cleaning up after storm

By Brock Parker, Globe Correspondent and Erica Noonan, Globe Staff

The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency will be assessing flood damage in Arlington within the next two days as firefighters continue to pump out basements around the Alewife Brook and other area homes.

Arlington Fire Chief Robert Jefferson said MEMA will be assessing the damage to public and private locations throughout the town either Wednesday or Thursday in an effort to determine what type of emergency assistance can be provided.

By Tuesday afternoon, Jefferson said the waters where receding along the Alewife Brook in Arlington and the Upper Mystic Lake--where local and state officials were monitoring water flowing over the dam’s spillway Monday.

Jefferson said the water is still over the banks and into the yards of a few homes along the Upper Mystic Lake, but the dam seems to be in “good shape."

Water levels at the dam had dropped by six inches by Tuesday afternoon and while officials were still keeping a wary eye, the situation appeared to be improving, said Catherine Williams, a spokeswoman with the state Department of Conservation and Recreation.

In neighborhoods around the Alewife Brook, Jefferson said firefighters are still scrambling to pump water as high as five or six feet out of basements. The department has received hundreds of reports of flooding basements, and Jefferson said some residents have grown disgruntled about the pace of the response.

Jefferson said the fire department has been adding crews to fight the flooding.
“We’re doing what we can,” he said.

Roads around the Alewife MBTA station, including connectors to Route 2 remained closed to traffic through the morning commute, according to state transportation officials.

Water has receded from the Colonial Village apartment complex on Lowell Street, where flooding in the parking lot triggered a voluntary evacuation of the 12-unit complex Sunday night. Jefferson said water is still three or four feet deep in the complex’s parking lot, but the water is no longer threatening to run into the basement and damage the utilities and residents have returned to the building.

Not even Arlington’s community safety building on Mystic Street was spared by the storm. The building, which houses the police department and fire department administration, has had leaks before and the three-day storm again caused water to come in through the roof and windows. Jefferson said a cleaning crew will have to be called in to prevent mold from developing.

“I’m just sopping around on my carpet,” the chief said.

--brock.globe@gmail.com