A portion of the two-mile ice jam on the Housatonic River in Kent melted.
State Representative Brian Ohler said about 800 feet of the northern portion of the jam has eroded thanks to the recent warm temperatures. Despite the progress, Ohler said he expects it to take another two- to three weeks for the ice jam to completely melt.
“We’re just starting to see a lot of activity overall, which is promising. We want the ice jam to break up into small manageable sizes so when it does eventually flow downstream it’s more manageable for New Milford,” Ohler said.
Kent is forecasted to receive half an inch to one inch of rain. Ohler said the incident management team again consulted several meteorologists and they expect the rain to help instead of hurt. After the river froze, Ohler said it receded about five feet, so the rain will help the river levels rise, so the water comes into contact with the ice and helps to melt it.
The people who lived in the 12 homes that were evacuated last week have been able to return. Ohler also said the students will return to Kent School Wednesday night and resume classes on Thursday. They plan to continue monitoring the river levels and will advise residents if there is another threat of a flood.
For now, Ohler said the emergency management officials plan to let Mother Nature melt the ice instead of bringing in heavy machinery. They don’t want to break up the ice at the Rt. 341 bridge because it is too far north and it is too difficult to access the river farther south.
“All options are still on the table, however I think the practicality of a mechanical intervention is slowly dwindling just because the river is so inaccessible for machinery to get to,” Ohler said.
