Ipswich River staff led the Town of Essex’s Community Resilience Workshop to help identify areas that are vulnerable to weather-related threats and how to make the town more resilient. The vulnerabilities and strengths in the town’s infrastructure as well as societal and environmental conditions were examined as they relate to impacts from extreme storms, variable temperatures, coastal flooding and drought.
Sponsored by a Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness grant from the state’s MVP program, the workshop brought together town planning, conservation, public health and public works staff with emergency responders, nonprofit groups and community stakeholders such as local business owners. The mix of participants provided local knowledge on areas that are vulnerable to climate change impacts. Subjects that were discussed included water supply, coastal and inland flooding and vulnerable people and natural systems.
This “all hands” approach is useful in order to see the breadth of how climate change is going to impact so many different aspects of communities. Ultimately, the plan that will result from this workshop will provide a roadmap of actions and projects that Essex can implement. The town will then be eligible for further state funding which will help make the town, its infrastructure, people and natural systems better prepared for storms, droughts and extreme temperatures.
Ipswich River’s purpose is to protect our water, for people and nature, which is why we participate in planning events like these. Water is the resource that will be most impacted by climate change, whether by drought, storms or flooding. We bring our expertise and local knowledge to these planning sessions to help our North Shore communities plan for the future. More MVP workshops are also being held this spring in North Reading, Newbury, Newburyport, Gloucester, Manchester, and Peabody.
To see how your town may be affected by weather-related impacts in the future, go to the newly published Massachusetts Climate Change Clearinghouse at: http://www.resilientma.org/ , which has maps, data, and other resources.