Heavy Rains Lead to Localized Flooding in Winchester

With all the rain it was bound to happen. The Aberjona River spilled over and flooded parts of Cross Street early Wednesday morning.

The had to close the area by the railroad bridge from 2:30 to 4:30 a.m. According to Chief John Nash, there was no report of property damage.

“These thunderstorms, those quick, heavy rains often lead to localized flooding,” Nash said.

Beginning over the next few weeks and continuing into the fall, the town will by 15 feet, which would limit the amount of flooding from the Aberjona. Construction needs to take place during the river’s low-flow period, which is between July and October.

“Winchester is prepared to do the river-widening between Waterfield and Bacon Street beginning in August, which is when the river is at its lowest levels,” Nash said.

According to Nash, the river reaches its flood stage at 13 inches. Wednesday morning it hit 12.84 by the time the rain had subsided.

“We didn’t quite reach flood level, but it was enough to create some local street flooding,” Nash said.

Within two hours, the DPW was able to pump the water out of the street and reopen the road.

Over the last 15 years, Winchester has due to the Aberjona River. Assistant Town Manager Mark Twogood has said this is a project that needs to be done.

“This is something that’s going to help the downtown area, which has been hit very hard with flooding” Twogood said. “They’ve suffered millions of dollars worth of damage and we need to help them.”