The Salisbury Plain River flows from Brockton into West Bridgewater and joins the Matfield River in East Bridgewater. The City of Brockton's climate-resilience study records a 2010 flood in which rescuers used a boat to pull residents from flooded homes, and it names roads where water pools in the wet months. This guide sets out the river's history as the study records it and what a homeowner should do with that knowledge.
Key takeaways
- The Salisbury Plain River runs from the city into West Bridgewater and joins the Matfield River in East Bridgewater
- The city's study records the 2010 flood, with rescues by boat from flooded homes
- The study names roads and locations where water pools in heavy rain, and a dated photograph from January 13, 2018 shows a flood at the Sycamore and Belmont intersection
- River water carries silt and saturates the ground, so the drying takes weeks and watches the cellar
- A river loss is recorded from the tide line, the first readings and the path into the house
- The city's study is a public record, and a homeowner's own photographs and notes are the record of the house
Where does the river run, and which homes are close to it?
The river leaves the city's low ground and flows toward West Bridgewater, where it is joined by the Matfield River at East Bridgewater. Homes closest to the channel and on the low ground beside it take the water first when the river rises.
The river's course is the simplest guide to risk. A home on a rise a few streets back may stay dry while a home on the flats beside the channel takes water in the cellar and the lower rooms. The record of the water line tells a homeowner, after the fact, which part of the flood applied to the house.
The river's path from the city into the downstream towns means the flood can start in one place and reach another. A rise in the city can arrive downstream with less warning than the homeowner expects, so the watch on the river is a shared one.
What does the city's study record about past floods?
The study records a 2010 flood in which rescuers used a boat to pull residents from flooded homes. A dated photograph from January 13, 2018 shows a flood at the Sycamore and Belmont intersection, and the study names roads where water pools in the wet months.
The study is a public record, and it is the most useful local source for how the river behaves. A homeowner who wants to know whether a street has flooded before can look at the study and see which locations it names.
The study also shows that floods on this system are not rare events confined to one storm. The pattern of rain, saturated ground and a rising channel recurs, and a homeowner should plan on that basis.
What does river water do to the inside of a house?
River water carries silt, and the silt holds moisture and odour in the cellar floor, the corners and the wall cavities. The water also saturates the ground around the foundation, which keeps feeding water into the cellar for days after the river has fallen.
The silt is the reason river losses cost more to clean than a clean-water leak. It must be cleared by hand and vacuum, and porous material that stood in it is generally removed rather than dried.
The saturated ground is the reason the drying takes longer. The crew measures the cellar and the crawl space each day, because the readings can rise again when water keeps arriving from outside.
How long does a river-flooded house take to dry?
Often weeks, because the subfloor and the framing hold water deep inside and the ground keeps releasing it. The drying runs until the readings reach standard at every measured point, and not for a fixed number of days.
The first week is pumping, removal and the first readings. The next weeks are the bulk of the drying, with equipment moved to the wettest points as the readings change. The final phase is a check at each point until the trend is flat.
The homeowner should be able to see the readings and ask for the trend at any time. A dry-looking floor with a high reading in the subfloor is not finished.
What should a homeowner keep from a river flood?
The tide-line photographs, the readings, the scope, the removal list and the invoices, in date order. Keep the city's study or any public notice about the flood with the file, because it helps show when the water arrived.
Photograph the water line in each room with a measuring object beside it, and keep the photographs with their dates. Keep the readings from each visit and the log of the drying.
Write down the times the river rose and fell as you saw them, and keep any public notice from the city. Those notes are the homeowner's own record of the event, and they sit well beside the city's study.
What can a homeowner do before the next rise?
Plan to move valuables up and out of the lowest rooms when a rise is forecast, keep the cellar drain clear and know where the power can be cut from a dry position. Keep the photographs of the last rise, so the next loss can be compared with it.
A simple plan saves a great deal of time. Decide which items go first, where they go and who helps. Keep a torch, a bucket and a copy of the insurer's number in one place near the stairs.
Ask a qualified contractor whether the lowest appliances, the boiler or the water heater can be raised, if the house takes water each time the river comes up. A contractor can also advise on the cellar drainage.
What a homeowner can do before the next rise
A river rise can be planned for even when it cannot be prevented. Decide which items go up first, where they go and who helps, and keep the cellar drain and the sump clear.
A short plan saves a great deal of time. Keep a torch, a bucket and a copy of the insurer's contact details in one place near the stairs, and keep photographs from the last rise where they can be found quickly.
Ask a qualified contractor whether the boiler, the water heater and the laundry can be raised above the last water line. That is a permanent change, and the crew's record of the water line is the best starting point for the conversation.
Reading the river's record for a particular house
The river's record is most useful when it is read against the house's own history: where the water has come before, how high it rose and which rooms it reached. A short table of those facts is the best starting point for any repair plan.
The city's study names locations where water has pooled, and a homeowner can ask whether the house sits near one of them. A house near a named location is worth checking more carefully after each heavy rain, even in a year without a major flood.
Keep a dated note of each rise, however small. Those notes build the house's own record, which is more useful to a contractor or an insurer than a general description of the river.
What the repair trade needs to know after a river loss
The repair trade needs to know which walls and floors were wet, how high the water reached and what was removed. The drying record provides all three, and it lets the trade close up the house without leaving damp behind.
A trade that opens a wall after a river loss should expect to find damp at the base of the wall for some time, and the record tells it how high the damp reached and when it was dried. The trade should confirm in writing that it has seen the record before work starts.
Keep the record with the house papers. A later buyer or a later contractor will want to know that the house took river water, and the record shows how it was dried and repaired.
Frequently asked questions
Does a flood upstream really reach West Bridgewater?
The city's study describes the river flowing from the city into West Bridgewater, so a rise that starts upstream can reach homes there. Timing depends on the rain and the channel.
Is river flooding covered by a standard policy?
Many standard policies exclude flood water from rivers, and flood cover is often separate. Ask the insurer in writing which applies to your house.
Can I stay in the house while it dries?
It depends on the damage and the air quality. The crew will say which rooms are safe to use, and whether anyone with a breathing condition should stay elsewhere.
Why does the cellar stay wet long after the river falls?
Because the saturated ground keeps feeding water into the cellar. The readings are taken each day until the cellar reaches standard.
What does the city's study say I should do?
The study is a public record of the river and its floods, and it does not set out household steps. The steps in this guide and the crew's scope are the practical guide for a house.
Who can I ask about the river?
The City of Brockton and the state agencies that publish the study are the right contacts for questions about the river. The crew can only record the damage to the house.
Where is the river study available?
The City of Brockton's climate-resilience study on the Salisbury Brook and Salisbury Plain River is published on the state's website, and the city can confirm the current copy.
Sources
- City of Brockton, climate-resilience study: Salisbury Brook and Salisbury Plain River final report
- National Weather Service, Boston and Norton office
- U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts, city of Brockton
This guide is general information for Plymouth County homeowners, not a substitute for an on-site inspection. Prices are estimates. See our disclaimer.