The month of April presents new opportunities to learn more about the impacts Manchester can expect to see as the climate continues to change. This snowless, warm winter and the flooding we have experienced provides a taste of what is happening.
The Town has undertaken various studies that set the stage for new actions. The Hazard Mitigation Plan, due for another update this year, identifies a series of hazards including floods, droughts, fires, snowstorms and hurricanes. The recently completed Vulnerability Action Plan for the Village core area was honored as an award-winning document from the Mass. Planning Association and lays out a series of steps to take from installing one-way gates on storm drain outfall pipes to prevent encroaching seawater to raising infrastructure and building berms to avoid the impacts of rising seas and bigger storms. Another action step recommended is to explore a redesign of Masconomo Park to remain a useful public space while being able to absorb future flooding.
The Town has also been involved in regional efforts. Utilizing state and federal funds, researchers from Harvard’s Graduate School of Design have undertaken the simulation of a Category 3 hurricane hitting us and the damage we can anticipate unless greater efforts to mitigate the impacts are taken. A collection of best practices from around the world is included in the reports that have been created. The most recent work has focused on the health of our forest, coastal and riverine ecosystems and how we might improve the health of these, which have become degraded, to provide greater protection against the damage climate change can bring. Upcoming work will focus on how the region might better collaborate in adapting to climate change, how to improve our governance structures to address climate challenges and the fiscal implications.
Public education is critical to successful climate mitigation efforts. On April 2 at 6:30 p.m. an online webinar, as part of the “Planning for Reality Series”, will be hosted by Town Green, a Cape Ann non-profit promoting positive action on climate change. The session will provide a good introduction to the challenges storms, sea-level rise and flooding bring to Manchester. Speakers for the evening will include Professor Charles Waldheim who is heading up the research work from Harvard and Dr. Jayne Knott, President of HydroPredictions, a local consulting company specializing in infrastructure impacts of climate change. Residents who want to listen and join in the discussion can register for the webinar through the Town Green website. A narrated walk of Reed and Masconomo Parks and Singing Beach will examine the impacts expected and options to deal with these impacts. Salem Sound
Watch Dir. Barbara Warren will lead the walk on April 5 at 3 p.m. (Meet at Masconomo Park.)
Building on this foundational information will be another set of interactive workshops. At the end of April, starting on April 30 and again on May 2, we will turn our attention to Masconomo Park. Consultants from Fuss and O’Neill, who assisted with the Vulnerability Action Plan, will lead a design charette aimed at coming up with a new layout for Masconomo Park that can better withstand future flooding. This follow-up work to the Action Plan has received additional state grant funding and will produce a redesign of the park that will enable future generations to enjoy this public space in spite of the threats bigger storms and rising seas pose. Details on meeting times
and places, including an in-depth site walk of the park, will be announced closer to the dates.
Another area of high concern is Ocean Street as it travels over White and Black beaches. Winter storm damage takes a toll on the road and beaches annually and it often feels like a losing battle to keep up with the repairs needed. To examine options for preserving this beautiful area of the Town, grant funds are being sought. We should know by the end of the summer if we have been able to secure funding and can form an advisory team to help the consultants we hire critique various options and recommend a course of action that presents a long-term solution to maintaining public access to this important stretch of coastline.
