Wallingford residents frustrated after newly renovated high school field floods again

After another few days of rain, the newly renovated field at Sheehan High School in Wallingford has flooded again.

Water covered the track and much of the field Thursday, and slowly receded throughout the day.

It's the third time the field has flooded in the past month.

Residents stopped by to get a glimpse themselves after hearing chatter on social media of the floodwaters.

“I didn’t realize it was as bad as it is. I thought it was just up here near the end zone. It’s the whole track,” said Anthony Tagliatela, who has lived in the neighborhood for more than 50 years. “Been all these years, I’ve never seen a flood like this. Something is definitely not right with the construction of the new project here.”

The John J. Ricciteli field was installed this past summer, but supply chain issues resulted in a delay. The high school’s sports teams couldn’t get on the field until late October.

Now, with flood after flood, residents worry students will miss out on more time on the field.

“I went to Sheehan. I played football here. I ran track here,” said Paul Doukas, of Wallingford. “If this was October, November they couldn’t play.”

Doukas, whose daughter is a senior, said he’d like to see something done to stop the floods.

“What happened? I understand there’s wetlands behind there and water tables and whatnot, but it almost seems like somebody wasn’t paying attention or didn’t do a thorough evaluation of the job,” he added.

Mark Deptula, supervisor of building and grounds for the high school, said it’s “mother nature at work” and there’s nothing to fix.

He said the area was inundated with rain, and the water table is at an all-time high, which has resulted in the field flooding.

Deptula said the field drains to a wetlands area that drains into the Quinnipiac River. If it was discharged any faster, he says, it would overwhelm the system and flood the neighborhood.

“We’ve never seen the water table this high. It’s very unusual,” Deptula said.

But the taxpayers who foot the bill for the field renovation want to see something done to help the situation.

“I hope they get a hold of the engineering firm, and they do some kind of remediation,” Doukas added. “I just hope they take care of it sooner rather than later, because I hate to see kids not be able to play their games or whatnot.”