Massachusetts is being proactive when it comes to the risks of flooding and ecological harm in the state.
The Healey-Driscoll administration recently announced $3.7 million in grants that will go toward river and wetland projects throughout the Commonwealth.
"As climate change brings more intense storms and flooding, building resilient infrastructure and restoring ecosystems are vital," said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper in the press release on the news.
The effort is three-pronged in its bid to lower flood risk, replenish ecosystems, enhance climate resiliency, and improve drinking water.
The biggest chunk, $2.1 million, will go to 17 municipalities to "replace outdated culverts with new, improved crossings," per the release. The goal will be to replenish river ecosystems, improve fish and wildlife passage, and lower the threat of floods.
Nearly $900,000 is going to the Herring River Estuary Restoration Project. That project is devoted to getting rid of unsafe dams, reinstituting freshwater wetlands in old cranberry farmlands, bringing back waterflow to "degraded coastal habitats," and culvert replacement and eradication.
The final bit, just over $750,000, goes to bolstering local and regional organizations leading the charge on ecological restoration in Massachusetts.
The state is to be commended for getting ahead of the risk of flooding and ecological damage, but it remains to be seen if the nearly $4 million effort will be enough.
The alarming rise in extreme weather events is increasingly coming closer to Massachusetts. Huge storms hit the Northeast this summer, hammering communities in Connecticut and New York. Locally, residents in Leominster and Attleboro are grappling with major flooding events over the past year that struck their towns.
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Coastal Massachusetts towns, like Scituate, are already bracing for an active storm season.
The future prospects are daunting, as well. Climate experts in the state anticipate a sea-level rise of 2.5 feet by 2050, as Commonwealth Beacon reports. That makes them wary of Hurricane Helene-like flooding events striking inland in the future for Massachusetts.
State officials remain confident the funding will make a huge difference.
"These projects are a win-win for people and nature—we are proud to be ushering them along," said Department of Fish and Game Commissioner Tom O'Shea.
Tepper said the state's grant money "provides nature-based solutions to ensure a strong, resilient future."
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