About
The purpose of this effort is to provide the Towns of Clinton, Westbrook, Old Saybrook, and the Borough of Fenwick with a comprehensive understanding of future risks associated with sea level rise and to collaboratively identify strategies, policies, programs, and projects that will reduce flood risk and enable these communities to prepare for the impacts of climate change while continuing to provide a high quality of life for all.
Meet the Executive Committee
The Executive Committee will meet regularly throughout the project and will oversee and guide the planning process. In addition, the Executive Committee will review all draft deliverables and provide direction and assistance with public outreach. Each of the four municipalities has selected representatives to serve on the Executive Committee.
Town of Clinton | Abby Piersall and Carrie Allen
Town of Westbrook | Peter Gillespie and Tony Cozza
Town of Old Saybrook | Chris Costa and Doug Mccracken
Borough of Fenwick | Marilyn Ozols and Bruce Baird
The Process
01 Identify Community Assets collaboratively with municipalities and the public
This task will identify several different community assets using existing, publicly available information and by working collaboratively with municipalities and the public.
02 Develop Sea Level Rise Scenarios using hydrodynamic modeling
This task will result in the development of three different scenarios of sea level rise (SLR) and the associated flood inundation from a 100-year storm. Importantly, these scenarios will help the municipalities and public visualize the near- and long-term flood impacts associated with climate change and SLR.
03 Conduct a Risk Assessment to identify vulnerable assets and systems
By overlaying the community assets with the sea level rise scenarios, the project team will identify vulnerable assets and systems, including assets vulnerable to sea level rise in the near-term and longer-term.
What is an asset?
An asset is a useful or valuable facility, system, person, or place that supports a high quality of life for residents and visitors. For the purposes of the Coastal Resiliency Plan, an asset could be a town beach, a fire department, a residential neighborhood, a library, a local business, a salt marsh, or anything else that provides an important service to the community and/or contributes to the area's quality of life and appeal.
04 Identify Projects and Strategies to increase the region's coastal resilience
Based on the risk assessment, this task will identify and prioritize projects to increase the region’s coastal resilience. The highest priority projects will be advanced to concept design by the consultant team (3-4 projects per municipality and two regional projects). An implementation action plan will be developed that summarizes the following for each recommended project: project name and description, project lead and partners, planning level cost estimate, time frame, immediate next steps, and potential funding sources.
05 Develop the Coastal Resiliency Plan to determine a path to coastal resiliency
The consultant team will compile a draft and final Coastal Resiliency Plan that integrates the key findings and recommendations from each preceding task.
Project Schedule
Summer 2023
Fall 2023
Winter 2023/2024
Spring 2024
Community assets will be identified and mapped based on existing data and feedback from the community. Click here to help us identify assets important to your community!
Community Asset Mapping
The Four Town Coastal Resiliency Plan will provide the participating municipalities with an action plan to move from planning to project implementation. The Plan will include the community asset inventory, key findings from the risk assessment, an overview of adaptation strategies, and a detailed description of proposed projects to increase resilience.
Coastal Resiliency Plan Development
A project kick-off meeting was held on June 15, 2023 with the Executive Committee and several stakeholders from each municipality. Throughout the summer, the project team will also conduct site visits and review existing related plans and data to understand local issues and existing efforts to increase resilience.
Project Start Up
A hydrodynamic model of the Long Island Sound will be developed to simulate sea level rise (SLR) and the corresponding inundation expected from a 100-year storm in the years 2030, 2050, and 2070.
Sea Level Rise (SLR) Scenarios
The community assets will be overlaid with the SLR scenarios to identify the severity and likelihood that assets will be exposed to future flooding.
Vulnerability & Risk Assessment
Based on public feedback and the results of the risk assessment, a suite of projects will be identified to reduce risks and increase resilience.
Project Identification
Proposed projects will be prioritized based on community feedback, and the highest priority projects will be further developed (4 projects per municipality and 2 regional projects), including engineering feasibility assessments, cost estimates, and renderings of the proposed changes.
Project Development
A series of public workshops and "pop-up" events will be held throughout the planning process to collect feedback and information from the community. Upcoming and past events will be posted on the "Get Involved" page.
Community Engagement
Project Funding
The Town of Westbrook is the recipient of a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation's (NFWF) Long Island Sound Futures Fund (LISFF) to prepare a Multi-Town Coastal Resiliency Plan (CRP) in partnership with the neighboring Towns of Clinton, Old Saybrook and the Borough of Fenwick, Connecticut.
Project Team
Town of Clinton
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Town of Westbrook
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