It was a typical day in late June for Jamey Supensky and her children as they headed to the frog pond in Bainbridge. Upon arrival, Jamey and her children decided staying was not an option as it was obvious that the water had already started to rise.
The Supenskys went back to their home on Lower Ravine Road and Jamey says didn’t think anything of the increasing waters as the night went on. Jamey, her husband Lex and their two small children, never gave flooding a second thought as they got ready to call it a night.
Their home is set above Gilmore Brook and their driveway is built like a bridge between their property and the road. Just before midnight June 27, Jamey says flood waters started posing concern for the safety of her and her family.
“The Norwich Fire Department showed up and asked if we wanted to get rescued,” said Jamey. “By then water was rushing and we couldn’t see the driveway.”
Not knowing what to do, the Supenskys told the rescue crew they would meet them out in back of their home near the Unison facility. “Moments after the emergency vehicles left, the road washed out,” said Jamey. “The water came from the driveway to the porch in 10 minutes.”
The deep grass and water beginning to flow through the fields posed more problems as the family of four hiked through the fields in order to be rescued. Jim Fowlston, and other volunteer firemen, Jamey explains, did what they could to help the family, including suiting up in scuba gear to make the rescue.
The family was loaded into an emergency vehicle and taken on the East River Road where Jamey says the flood waters posed another risk. “Water started going right over the top of the emergency vehicle,” she said. “We thought we would be washed off the road.”
The family was taken to their grandmother’s home where they would wait out the rest of the storm. Come morning, Jamey and Lex went home to survey the damage. When the family returned, they found out that a camper had blocked the culvert pipe and that it had come loose from the stone and risen through the driveway. Water had taken away the family’s front yard but had left the house nearly undamaged. “The only water we got was from when the water came around the back of the house and seeped into the basement through an open window,” said Jamey.
The road became inaccessible and the family lost access to their home. The back way through the field the family had used the night before was available, but not for everyday travel.
The culvert was put in place approximately 15 years prior to the flooding to support the road and Jamey says the Town of Norwich did what they could to get the work complete.
The family applied for FEMA aid and Jamey says the money they received helped the work being done to their property. The family rented an apartment in Norwich for the duration of the time it took to make the needed repairs. They were out of their home from June until December due to another flood again in November.
One day after the work was complete on their driveway in November, flash flooding caused a partial relapse and work needed to be done again. After 18 years with no flooding, two came within five months of each other. While at the apartment in Norwich, Jamey saud the hot water tank burst and three inches of water covered their apartment. Needless to say, the Supenskys had seen their share of water.
The Supenskys are back home now and their property is slowly getting back to normal. The town replaced the culvert pipe and Jamey explains they did everything they could to ensure the bridge was replaced. The family’s front yard has been back-filled and Jamey says hopefully grass will be growing next spring.