Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | SEPTEMBER 30, 2024 11 data yet to say exactly by how much. "But there is a general sense in the meteorological community and the climate community that the heavy-to-excessive precipitation events are increasing in frequency, and they are increasing in frequency on a worldwide scale," Bagioni said. "It looks like we are getting more frequent heavy, localized events," like Connecticut experienced in August. A warming planet creates more ocean-water evaporation, which puts more moisture in the atmosphere, Bagioni said. "The connection we think will be made is that a warming planet and warming oceans means the amount of water available to local storm events is greater," Bagioni said. "It was rare to get 70-plus dew points in the course of a summer. Now we are getting many of them in a row. That's leading to more impressive rainfall events, even if it is not for every town." Some years will be drier than others, but the long-term trend is for wetter weather, Bagioni said. More work for cleanup, prevention Griffin, of Brown Roofing, isn't the only contractor to experience an uptick in business following more severe storms. "The standing joke with us is you get the 100-year-storm once a month now," said Richard Taylor, owner of Connecticut Dry Basements. Taylor recently paid $1.2 million for a 7,600-square-foot warehouse in Cheshire — a new home for a business he launched 15 years ago in his garage. Taylor is now up to 18 employees after hiring four new workers over the past couple months to handle an increased workload. Taylor credits his business growth to a solid reputation and increasingly severe weather. However, he isn't sold on the notion that humans are to blame for changing climate. "We have customers who say I've lived here 20 years and never once had water, and now it's 6 inches deep," Taylor said. "It's definitely getting wetter. The occurrences of heavy rain are more often." Enzo Minniti, co-owner of Scenic Landscaping in Rocky Hill, said demand for yard drainage is picking up. He performs up to two dozen drainage jobs a year. There are many more inquiries than actual jobs, however, as people suffer sticker shock when estimates hit around the $10,000 mark, he noted. That happens so often that Minniti now asks for photographs of a potential jobsite so he can give an initial over-the-phone estimate to determine if a customer is interested in moving forward. "We've gotten a lot more leads," Minniti said. "Not that we always close a sale, because people have no idea what things cost these days." Laura Champagne is the owner of a Suffield-based franchise of mold remediator Natural Home Solutions. Her customers are also complaining about emerging water problems. Champagne, 41, is a single mother who managed a car dealership for 18 years before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Then she decided to make a change and became a franchisee of a company that uses organic, non-toxic products to address mold issues. She hired an employee about 18 months ago. While not in busi- ness for a long time, Champagne said her customers often talk of changing conditions. "Customers will say: 'I've owned this house for 30 years and never had water in the basement,'" Champagne said. "Talking to my customers, there is definitely an increase in problems. I'd say a large portion of our business is from the increase in water. I'd say at least half of it is due to some sort of water-related storm damage." Gov. Ned Lamont and Sen. Richard Blumenthal looking at the aftermath of the flooding in Oxford, following a severe storm in August. PHOTO | TABIUS MCCOY/CT MIRROR GENERAL CONTRACTING • CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT • DESIGN BUILD PARTNER 21 DEMING ROAD, BERLIN, CT 06037 • (860) 610-1093 • WWW.OLSENCS.COM NEW CONSTRUCTION • TENANT FIT OUT • CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE • HEALTHCARE

• Cover