A Hyde Lane couple has taken the Town of Westport to court, claiming construction of the new Long Lots Elementary School has repeatedly flooded their property with stormwater, mud and silt, leaving part of their land impassable. Edith and Samuel Anderson filed suit over the alleged environmental protection law violations tied to the school project, which broke ground a year ago and sits right next door.
The Andersons filed their complaint on October 8 in Bridgeport Superior Court, according to CTPost. Their property shares a boundary with the Long Lots Elementary School site and sits downhill from it on Hyde Lane, a geography the lawsuit says has made them the recipient of runoff from the construction above. The suit alleges that drilling, excavation, filling and regrading on the school property, including work beside the shared boundary, began in October 2025.
According to the lawsuit, that work has repeatedly and continuously altered the natural flow, volume, direction and concentration of surface stormwater and groundwater moving onto the Andersons' land. The couple says soil, mud and silt have been deposited on their property, including on designated wetlands, and that part of their land has become impassable as a result. The filing also claims that school-site work scoured, eroded and scarred surfaces on the property, including lawn areas.
Trespassing and Nuisance Claims at the Core of the Suit
The Andersons are suing for trespassing, private nuisance and public nuisance, arguing the town created and is maintaining a public nuisance on their land, the lawsuit states. They are asking the court to order Westport to cease and desist discharging or depositing stormwater, groundwater, soil, mud, silt, gravel, rocks and debris onto their property, and to stop the town from trespassing there altogether.
The suit also alleges violations of the Connecticut Environmental Protection Act, pointing to what it describes as unreasonable destruction, impairment and pollution of natural resources, and of the Connecticut Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Act, which the Andersons say has resulted in pollution, impairment and destruction of natural resources including the wetlands on their property. Connecticut's wetlands statute identifies deposition or removal of material and diversion or obstruction of water flow among the activities that have despoiled or eliminated wetlands and watercourses statewide, according to Chapter 440 of the Connecticut General Assembly's statutes.
Under a related framework, Connecticut's Office of Legislative Research has noted that an environmental protection act claim must include specific factual allegations about the nature of the alleged unreasonable pollution, impairment or destruction, detailed enough for a reviewing authority to evaluate whether it meets the legal standard, per the Connecticut General Assembly Office of Legislative Research.
Drainage Fears Predate the Groundbreaking
The lawsuit claims the drainage problems have already harmed the Andersons' use and enjoyment of their property, posing health and welfare risks and degrading its value, and that the damage is ongoing. Concerns about flooding near the Long Lots site aren't new. Neighbors raised worries about flooding and other issues back in 2022 as plans for the replacement school gained momentum, according to the Westport Journal.
Those concerns predated an October 14, 2025 ceremonial groundbreaking, when the Long Lots School Building Committee marked the official start of construction on the new building. The project is being managed by Newfield Construction, and the replacement school is slated to open for the 2027-2028 academic year, according to a statement from Long Lots Elementary School. Project records maintained by the town list a Long Lots Drainage Report and a Long Lots Wetland Report among the materials compiled for the build, per the Town of Westport.
Kevin Christie declined to comment on the lawsuit, citing ongoing litigation, CTPost reports. With the case now before Bridgeport Superior Court, the dispute adds a legal wrinkle to a school project that neighbors have been watching warily since well before the first shovel hit the ground.
