Grantee: Alliance for the Mystic River
Grant: $115,000Contractor: Fuss & O’Neill
Alliance for the Mystic River sought support the development of a climate vulnerability assessment of the main watershed waterway corridors (streams, rivers, wetlands, etc.) from I-95 north to Lantern Hill Pond, including the towns of Stonington, Groton, North Stonington, and Ledyard, as well as the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation and the Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation in Connecticut. Groton and Stonington are independently working on the Mystic Drawbridge area and the Route 1 corridor, and the resulting documentation from this project will add to their Watershed Resilience Action Plan. The assessment will focus primarily on the area around Old Mystic and the area around and including the lakes at the headwaters, called Lantern Hill Pond, Long Pond, and Bush Pond, including some critical road-stream crossings along Whitford Brook. The Alliance seeks to take a holistic approach to the assessment and to consider how ecological and climate change concerns will impact the communities within the watershed. These communities include the Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation, which is entirely encompassed within the Mystic River Watershed, and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation. Tribal perspectives and laws will be important to consider during the development of the climate vulnerability assessment.
Grantee: Groton Long Point Association
Grant: $63,000Contractor: GZA
In 2023, the Groton Long Point Association (GLPA) developed a comprehensive resiliency plan with GeoEnvironmental, Inc., and Coastal Ocean Analytics, which identified four adaptation recommendations: (1) stormwater system improvement, (2) relocation of public safety (police and fire station) facilities, (3) construction of additional shoreline protection and wave attenuation, and (4) building elevation in line with current and future floodplain projections. GLPA sought assistance with (1) project prioritization, feasibility, and funding guidance; (2) strategy development and project planning, including the development of conceptual designs for priority projects; and (3) reviewing and providing feedback on potential grant opportunities.
Groton Long Point is a 270-acre peninsula in Connecticut bordered on the west by Mumford Cove, on the south and east by Fishers Island Sound, and on the north by Groton Long Point Road. Many of the areas most susceptible to flooding are single-family residential neighborhoods, natural and recreational areas—including the Inner Lagoon and Outer Lagoon—and tidal and inland wetlands to the north of Groton Long Point.
Grantee: Southwest Conservation District
Grant: $78,300Contractor: Tighe & Bond
The Southwest Conservation District sought support to work with the Norwalk River Watershed Initiative (NRWI) to update the Norwalk River Watershed Based Plan, originally published in 1998 and last updated in 2011. The completed plan will include all components required to meet the standards of an EPA 9-Element Plan. This watershed encompasses the municipalities of Norwalk, Darien, New Canaan, Wilton, Weston, Redding, and Ridgefield in Connecticut, as well as Lewisboro in New York.
The NRWI meets monthly and includes representatives from relevant organizations and municipalities. Activities stemming from the previous plan have improved water quality to the extent that two river segments were removed from the list of impaired waters in 2012. The revised plan will support partners in securing funding to implement projects aimed at improving water quality and enhancing community resilience. Public outreach and engagement, particularly with communities facing environmental justice concerns in the City of Norwalk, will be a key component of the plan revision process.
Grantee: Towns of Essex, Deep River, and Chester
Grant: $80,000Contractor: Fuss & O’Neill
The towns of Essex, Deep River, and Chester, CT, sought planning support for developing a climate vulnerability assessment, strategizing based on the findings, and preliminary project scoping of a pilot project in at least one area within each of the towns (a total of three pilot projects). During 2019–2020, the three towns participated in a Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan, which was followed up on in 2022–2023 (Chester, Essex, Deep River), all of which highlighted coastal and riverine flooding concerns, especially during severe rain events. Using the findings from the previous efforts, the towns hope that this new assessment will help determine how to prioritize concerns and reduce risks.
Grantee: Town of Madison
Grant: $49,845Contractor: FHI Studio
The town of Madison, CT, sought planning support to develop a climate resilience plan that builds on and broadens the small-scale Resilience Plan developed in 2016, using updated climate projections and expanding on previous findings to allow for a fresh approach with new resources. The planning process should include public engagement opportunities in the form of workshops, interviews, or meetings. Some of the items the town would like included in the assessment are sea level rise projections, a climate change vulnerability index, a drinking water vulnerability assessment (especially in low-lying areas where wells may experience saltwater intrusion), stormwater models, tidal wetland preservation, and identification of historic and culturally significant locations at risk. The town is interested in the use of GIS and mapping components for these factors and the potential to link findings back to its Hazard Mitigation Plan. The town seeks recommendations for adaptation and resilience practices that could be utilized to address the above factors and an update to an implementation table to include actions, timeframes, and potential funding sources.
Grantee: Rye Town Park Commission
Grant: $69,520Contractor: Indigo River
The Rye Town Park Commission sought planning support to develop a climate vulnerability assessment for Rye Town Park, NY, a waterfront park on the National Register of Historic Places that serves about 70,000 visitors per year through both passive and active recreational opportunities. The commission wants to better understand the predicted impacts that rising sea levels, flooding, and increased storm frequency and intensity will have on the park so that it can plan and implement projects that will increase the resilience of the park and its 17 structures and ensure that it remains usable for generations to come.
Grantee: Seatuck Environmental Association
Grant: $71,468Contractor: GZA
Seatuck Environmental Association and its partners sought planning support to develop a conceptual design for improving the connectivity, ecological health, sustainability, and resiliency of Beaver Brook, a coastal stream that flows for more than two miles through a largely protected corridor through the Village of Mill Neck and the Hamlet of Locust Valley into the Mill Neck Creek Marsh complex in Oyster Bay, NY. Specific issues to be considered include the impacts of sea level rise on an earthen dam that impounds the stream at the head of tide (forming the 60-acre Beaver Lake) and carries a public roadway (DeGraff Causeway, a.k.a. Cleft Road) across the waterway; the impacts of sea level rise on the tidal marsh habitat north of the Beaver Lake dam; high levels of stormwater runoff and sedimentation that have severely impacted water depths, stormwater storage, and ecological health throughout the waterway, especially in Beaver Lake; and upstream impoundments that eliminate connectivity, reduce ecological health, and create potential public hazards for downstream property and infrastructure. The contractor will provide technical analysis of these issues and outline the nature, feasibility, and costs of potential solutions for addressing them, producing a conceptual plan and strategy for moving forward.
Grantee: St. John’s Episcopal Church
Grant: $72,040Contractor: GEI
St. John’s Church sought planning support to develop a conservation and restoration plan for St. John’s Marsh and Pond, located at the southernmost end of the Inner Cold Spring Harbor. St. John’s Church, located in the Village of Laurel Hollow, NY, on the border of Nassau and Suffolk Counties, has owned several acres of high marsh and a 14-acre pond for nearly a century. The church would like assistance assessing the health of the existing marsh and pond and the threats to them, including but not limited to sea level rise, hardened shorelines, invasive species, degraded water quality, stormwater, and marine debris. The contractor will develop a Marsh and Pond Conservation Plan and create conceptual designs for one or more priority projects. The marsh complex was included as a focal site in the Marsh Conservation Planning for the Oyster Bay Cold Spring Harbor, finalized in December 2023.
Grantee: SUNY Maritime
SUNY Maritime College sought support to assess local climate risks, conceptualize project ideas, and conduct preliminary planning efforts for their 55-acre waterfront campus on the Throggs Neck peninsula in the Bronx, NY. The college aims to develop a climate vulnerability assessment and climate adaptation plan to identify and prioritize projects, positioning them to apply for funding to design and implement sustainable and resilience-focused initiatives. The vulnerability assessment and adaptation plan will contribute to one of their Strategic Actions to develop a college environmental sustainability plan.
Grantee: Town of Mamaroneck
Grant: $74,000Contractor: LK McLean Associates
The Town of Mamaroneck, New York, sought planning support to develop a climate vulnerability assessment for three key municipally owned properties on Hommocks Road, Boston Post Road, and Pryer Manor Road. These areas, which serve as crucial access points to neighborhoods, are vulnerable to sea level rise and severe flooding driven by stormwater and tidal influences. The town aims to better understand current conditions and potential climate impacts, identify flood mitigation strategies, and develop conceptual designs for priority projects.
Grantee: Village of Larchmont
Grant: $72,600Contractor: LK McLean Associates
The Village of Larchmont, New York, sought planning support to develop a study to determine the root causes of recurrent flooding in the Fountain Square area of the village and identify potential solutions, with a preference for green infrastructure or nature-based solutions where feasible. The contractor will conduct hydrologic and hydraulic analysis, including model runs to represent future conditions based on projected tidal conditions under different storm event scenarios, and to identify and evaluate potential solutions. Ideally, at least one solution will be advanced to a conceptual design and cost estimate stage to facilitate an application for further grant support for implementation.
Grantee: Village of Lattingtown
Grant: $37,360Contractor: Land Use Ecological Services
The Village of Lattingtown, New York, sought planning support to develop a conservation and restoration plan for the marsh complex in the village-owned Kate Trubee Davison Preserve, located south of the western portion of Frost Creek. The contractor will assess alternatives for marsh conservation and restoration, considering the impacts of climate change, the 100-year-old village-owned levee that runs between the Kate Trubee Davison Preserve and the Lattingtown Harbor Boat Basin, and the adjacent homeowners. The project will produce a conceptual plan and strategy for moving forward, including preliminary cost estimates, information on necessary permitting, and grants to fund the project. The marsh complex was included as a focal site in the Marsh Conservation Planning for the Oyster Bay Cold Spring Harbor, finalized in December 2023.
Grantee: Village of Mamaroneck
Grant: $49,925Contractor: Assemblage Landscape Architecture
The Village of Mamaroneck, New York, sought landscape architecture planning services and landscape design for the first portion of a proposed village greenway along the Mamaroneck and Sheldrake Rivers. The initial segment is approximately 0.6 miles in length and includes about 7.5 acres of adjacent floodplain to be restored as natural habitat with native plants, trees, and shrubs. It begins at the Town of Mamaroneck border and stretches northeast along the Sheldrake River to Fenimore Road. The village anticipates that the plans developed for this first segment of the greenway will serve as a template or standard for subsequent segments and incorporate green infrastructure and resiliency features.
Grantee: Village of Pelham
Grant: $75,240Contractor: Biohabitats
The Village of Pelham, New York, sought planning support to develop a Natural Resources Inventory (NRI). The contractor will collaborate with the village’s Sustainability Advisory Board to define the scope of the NRI, collect data, input the data into GIS as needed or applicable, and lead the organization and writing of the final report. The NRI will guide conservation and land-use decisions in the village in a coordinated manner to improve resilience to climate change and conserve natural and cultural resources. It will also help implement specific recommendations for flood management and natural habitat restoration in the Hutchinson River Watershed Plan and identify opportunities to partner with neighboring municipalities and agencies to improve land-use outcomes.
Grantee: Village of Rye Brook
Grant: $110,970Contractor: SLR
The Village of Rye Brook, New York, sought planning support to identify feasible solutions to recurrent flooding in the Rich Manor Park area along the east branch of the Blind Brook. The village has previously implemented a large retention basin and several other significant flood mitigation projects in this area, identified during a 2002 study, but flooding remains an ongoing issue. This area was designated as High-Risk Area #6 in the Blind Brook Flood Mitigation and Resilience Report, completed in November 2022 by the NYSDEC Resilient New York program. The village sought assistance to develop a detailed topographic and utility survey in GIS for the project area, conduct the rigorous hydrologic and hydraulic analysis recommended in the Resilient New York report (including mapping stormwater and drainage infrastructure), and create a list of priority projects and conceptual designs with budget figures for consideration by village residents.
To view an interactive map of these 15 projects, click here.
Descriptions of all 15 projects totaling $1.1 million awarded in 2024 are also available in a fact sheet.
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