Climate Resilience 101 for Elected and Appointed Municipal Officials
Local governments know to invest in police to protect communities from crime. They know to invest in firefighters to protect communities from fire. But mayors, city councilors and select board members are not yet giving nature based solutions the attention they deserve as protection from flooding, heat, and air pollution.
Our Climate Resilience 101 sessions focus on educating elected officials and select board members within the Charles River watershed on the importance of climate resilience to gain legislative support for cities and towns to take proactive roles to adapting to climate change.
Our Climate Resilience 101 sessions focus on educating elected officials and select board members within the Charles River watershed on the importance of climate resilience to gain legislative support for cities and towns to take proactive roles to adapting to climate change.
Climate Resilience 101:
- Assists with educating elected officials and select board members on the importance of climate resilience
- Builds legislative support around nature based solutions and their community benefits
- Brings together communities in the Charles River watershed to work on climate adaptation and strategies at a regional scale
- Convenes watershed communities to raise issues together, as needed
- Addresses public health and safety and environmental health and justice issues while prioritizing resiliency planning
Climate Resilience 101 Toolkit
This toolkit is intended to assist communities with building climate resilience into local policy and planning initiatives. By prioritizing nature-based solutions like green infrastructure and tree and wetland protection, communities will be better able to adapt to the changing climate, and to do so in a cost-effective way. Many of the resources in the toolkit are also important for leveraging funding opportunities for climate resilience projects.
Stormwater
Massachusetts receives about 45 inches of precipitation every year. In the natural environment, almost half of this rainfall filters into the ground, with most of the rest returning to the sky as water vapor. However, in developed areas, we have paved over the ground and cut down many of the trees that turn water into vapor. The result is that well over 50 percent of the rain in a typical year quickly becomes polluted stormwater runoff. Stormwater runoff is a concern because:
Stormwater runoff from municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s) is regulated by the state and federal government through a permit program. In Massachusetts, the General Permit for Stormwater Discharges from Small MS4s (issued 2016, modified 2020) requires, among other things, communities in the Charles River watershed to significantly reduce the amount of phosphorus discharged through stormwater to the Charles River in order to meet water quality standards and ensure the river is safe for recreation and fishing, along with maintaining habitat. These requirements come from the Total Maximum Daily Loads (“TMDL”) for Nutrients in the Upper/Middle Charles River (2011) or Lower Charles River Basin (2007) and are legally binding—failure to comply would be a violation of the permit and the Clean Water Act.
Many communities in the Charles River watershed have also identified stormwater and flooding as significant challenges and threats in their Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (“MVP”) planning process. The best way to reduce problems associated with stormwater runoff in developed areas and comply with state and federal requirements is to design stormwater best management practices, preferably green stormwater infrastructure, that slow, filter, and cleanse runoff and mimic the way nature handles water.
The resources below have been developed to assist communities in reducing stormwater pollution through local code and funding necessary stormwater infrastructure improvements.
Stormwater Management Bylaws and Regulations
Green Streets
- It carries a variety of pollutants, including trash; oil/grease; nutrients from fertilizer, pet waste, and yard waste; bacteria from animal waste; and solids/sediment directly to the nearest stream or river. In the Charles River watershed, phosphorus is of particular concern as it degrades water quality and causes blooms of toxic cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae.
- Bigger storms, like those we’re seeing from climate change, can overwhelm infrastructure, resulting in flooding and, depending on the infrastructure, combined sewer overflows.
Stormwater runoff from municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s) is regulated by the state and federal government through a permit program. In Massachusetts, the General Permit for Stormwater Discharges from Small MS4s (issued 2016, modified 2020) requires, among other things, communities in the Charles River watershed to significantly reduce the amount of phosphorus discharged through stormwater to the Charles River in order to meet water quality standards and ensure the river is safe for recreation and fishing, along with maintaining habitat. These requirements come from the Total Maximum Daily Loads (“TMDL”) for Nutrients in the Upper/Middle Charles River (2011) or Lower Charles River Basin (2007) and are legally binding—failure to comply would be a violation of the permit and the Clean Water Act.
Many communities in the Charles River watershed have also identified stormwater and flooding as significant challenges and threats in their Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (“MVP”) planning process. The best way to reduce problems associated with stormwater runoff in developed areas and comply with state and federal requirements is to design stormwater best management practices, preferably green stormwater infrastructure, that slow, filter, and cleanse runoff and mimic the way nature handles water.
The resources below have been developed to assist communities in reducing stormwater pollution through local code and funding necessary stormwater infrastructure improvements.
Stormwater Management Bylaws and Regulations
- Model Stormwater Bylaw, Northern Middlesex Stormwater Collaborative
- Model Stormwater Regulations, Northern Middlesex Stormwater Collaborative
- Model Stormwater Bylaw, Neponset Stormwater Partnership
- Model Stormwater Regulations, Neponset Stormwater Partnership
- CRWA Recommended Additions to Stormwater Bylaws re Phosphorus Reduction
- CRWA Recommended Additions to Stormwater Regs re Phosphorus Reduction
Green Streets
Protecting Wetlands
In the era of climate change, flooding and inundation are continuing to increase and spread as sea levels rise and heavy precipitation increases. Extreme heat, storms and extreme weather, and drought are also on the rise. Fortunately, there is a natural, cost-effective solution to all of these problems: wetlands. Though wetlands (like many natural resources) are affected by climate change, they also play a major role in mitigating climate impacts.
The state Wetlands Protection Act provides a baseline level of protection for most wetlands, streams, and rivers and gives local Conservation Commissions permitting authority over projects in and around these areas. In addition to these protections though, it is critically important to think about wetlands protection in the context of climate resilience. By protecting and restoring wetlands, where applicable, new and redevelopment projects can contribute to the community’s ability to adapt to climate change and avoid further exacerbating impacts like flooding and heat islands.
By enacting/updating local wetlands code, cities and towns can improve their climate resilience by ensuring that wetlands and other water resources are fully protected.
Promoting climate resilience through local wetlands code
The state Wetlands Protection Act provides a baseline level of protection for most wetlands, streams, and rivers and gives local Conservation Commissions permitting authority over projects in and around these areas. In addition to these protections though, it is critically important to think about wetlands protection in the context of climate resilience. By protecting and restoring wetlands, where applicable, new and redevelopment projects can contribute to the community’s ability to adapt to climate change and avoid further exacerbating impacts like flooding and heat islands.
By enacting/updating local wetlands code, cities and towns can improve their climate resilience by ensuring that wetlands and other water resources are fully protected.
Promoting climate resilience through local wetlands code
Protecting Trees
While we do not always recognize them as such, trees are a critical piece of infrastructure, one that will help us adapt to our changing climate. Maintaining and improving your community’s tree canopy provides a multitude of benefits: tree coverage reduces air and noise pollution, reduces heat island effects and energy costs, improves water quality by filtering stormwater, provides wildlife habitat, and mitigates flooding and erosion. A robust tree canopy also reduces overall greenhouse gas emissions by sequestering carbon, improves property values, and amplifies a community’s aesthetic.
When a community’s trees are removed by developers or private property owners, overall tree coverage decreases and the benefits this coverage brings to the community are reduced. Many communities in the Charles River watershed have identified maintaining and expanding tree canopy as an essential climate resilience measure through the MVP process.
By adopting local “tree code” (in the form of a bylaw/ordinance and/or regulations), your community can protect its tree canopy by establishing conditions and processes for tree maintenance and removal.
Promoting climate resilience through a local tree code
When a community’s trees are removed by developers or private property owners, overall tree coverage decreases and the benefits this coverage brings to the community are reduced. Many communities in the Charles River watershed have identified maintaining and expanding tree canopy as an essential climate resilience measure through the MVP process.
By adopting local “tree code” (in the form of a bylaw/ordinance and/or regulations), your community can protect its tree canopy by establishing conditions and processes for tree maintenance and removal.
Promoting climate resilience through a local tree code
Implementing nature-based solutions
The Building Blue Framework provides recommendations on climate-resilient design and construction practices relating to site planning, stormwater management, and landscape design. It is intended to be used by developers, designers, and project reviewers such as Planning Boards and Conservations Commissions when designing and approving projects. The accompanying checklist can be used to evaluate a project’s climate resilience.