Green Stormwater Infrastructure in Milford Town Park Design and Construction

Green Stormwater Infrastructure in Milford Town Park
Design and Construction

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Project Overview

CRWA is working with the Town of Milford to design and construct green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) within Milford Town Park. The GSI consists of two rain gardens and one infiltration system. These nature-based solutions will help provide ecological resilience for the town. The project also includes engaging the schools that site adjacent to the site and the local environmental justice community.

This project is funded by a Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) action grant awarded to the Town for Fiscal Years 2021 and 2022.

Completed Planning Facilitated this Work

In 2018 through 2020, CRWA worked with the Town of Milford to develop a restoration plan for the area around Milford Pond. The town is located at the headwaters of the Charles and, like many communities around I-495, it has experienced rapid growth in recent years. The Charles River in Milford suffers from nutrient pollution and low water levels during dry conditions. CRWA’s designs include 64 stormwater treatment opportunities using green infrastructure to treat runoff from the 1,180-acre study area, and will preserve open space. Each year, the proposed plan would reduce 650 pounds of nutrient pollution load into the river, contribute 240 million gallons to groundwater recharge, and meet legally required pollution reductions.

The planning work was partially financed with Federal Funds from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (the Department) under a S. 604(b) competitive grant.

You can review a PDF of the the Subwatershed Restoration Plan presentation here.

Milford Subwatershed Restoration Introduction Presentation Video

Design and Construction is Underway

Work includes:

Collaborating with Horsley Witten Group, an environmental engineering and consulting firm, to prepare design plans
Estimating water quality and recharge benefits from the GSI
Obtaining input from Town staff and stakeholders
Completing local and state permitting
Preparing final construction plans and an opinion of probable construction cost
Developing a long-term operation & maintenance plan

A key component of the work is engagement and involvement of stakeholders, including students, residents, municipal staff and elected/appointed decision makers. With that in mind, we ask you to set aside a few minutes and take our survey to provide your input on the rain garden,

Climate Adaptation

During 2017 and 2018, the Town of Milford undertook a planning process to:

Define top local natural and climate change related hazards of concern;
Identify existing and future strengths and vulnerabilities;
Develop prioritized actions for the Community; and
Identify immediate opportunities to collaboratively advance actions to increase resilience.

This effort was funded by a Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) planning grant.

As further described in the Summary of Findings Report from this planning process, the Town of Milford is one of hundreds of municipalities in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that faced with a need to increase resilience and adapt to future impacts from extreme weather events and natural hazard events.

Natural disasters can cause loss of life and damage properties and infrastructure, affecting the local, state, and national economic, social, and environmental wellbeing. Over the last decade Milford has experienced impacts from multiple natural hazards in the form of “nor’easters”, severe winter weather, severe weather, and flooding in 2009, 2012 2013, 2015, and 2018.

The Town has taken an active approach in addressing impacts from natural hazards through the development of the Town’s multi-natural hazard mitigation plan.

However, the recent impacts from hurricanes Sandy and Irene in New England have increased the urgency and opened the need for municipalities, states, and the nation to not only mitigate natural hazards, but also to increase resilience to address extreme weather and climate change vulnerability. Just in the last year the Commonwealth experienced significant impacts from multiple winter storms that resulted in property damages and utility disruption such as power outages that extended from the coast to inland communities in the MetroWest region.

It is also an important reminder that in other parts of the country experienced devastating impacts to infrastructure and social, ecological and economic networks caused by hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria.

Based on the 2013 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s 2013 Technical Report Regional Climate Trends and Scenarios for the U.S. National Climate Assessment, New England is expected to experience increased levels of precipitation and increased temperatures as well as a likely increase in extreme weather events. These projected changes will increase the vulnerability of areas already at risk to such hazards in Milford today and potentially increase the exposure of less vulnerable areas in the future.

Once complete, these rain gardens and infiltration chambers will support the resiliency planning by helping reduce flooding, infiltrate water to reduce impacts from drought, and improve water quality to the Charles River.

Press

Interview with the Milford Informer on Milford TV

Frequently Asked Questions

If you are interested in more details, check out our frequently asked questions.