Last week the NSRWA staff participated in Weymouth’s Community Resilience Workshop to help identify areas that are vulnerable to climate change and how to make the town more resilient. The town’s vulnerabilities and strengths in their infrastructure, society and environment were examined as they relate to climate change impacts from extreme storms, temperatures, coastal floods and drought.
The workshop was facilitated by Stantec engineering firm and was sponsored by a $25,000 Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness grant from the state. The workshop brought together town staff, from planning to emergency responders to nonprofit and community stakeholders, to provide local knowledge on areas that are vulnerable to climate change impacts. Areas that were discussed included water supply, coastal and inland flooding and vulnerable people and natural systems.
This “all hands” approach is really needed in order to see the breadth of how climate change is going to impact so many different aspects of a community and how to stave off the worst outcomes. Ultimately the plan that will result from this workshop will provide a roadmap of projects that the community can implement and be eligible for further state funding for that will make the town, its infrastructure, people and natural systems, better prepared for storms, droughts and extreme temperatures.
To see how your town may be affected by these problems in the future, go to the Massachusetts Sea Level Rise and Coastal Flooding Viewer.
NSRWA’s purpose is to protect our water, for people and nature and that’s why we participate in planning events like these. Water is going to be impacted the most by climate change, whether it is by drought, storms or flooding. We bring local knowledge to these planning sessions that can help our South Shore communities plan for the future. To read more about the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness program, go to the Weymouth website.