The mounting evidence should convince even the most ardent climate change deniers that Mystic is increasingly ― alarmingly ― in harm’s way, as sea levels rise and catastrophic storms become more routine.

I break out Mystic from the wide range of climate change harm to eventually rain down on coastal eastern Connecticut because, well, it is predominately low-lying and extremely vulnerable.

Indeed, crank up any of the computer simulated models that look at projected impacts of rising waters and storm floods and there appears to be no town or community in the region more at risk.

Yes, the edges of Stonington Borough, the river side of Bank Street in New London and some of the central intersections near Shaw’s Cove in the city, also light up in bright color when you look at risk maps for low-lying areas in the region. Waterford and East Lyme have some troubled sections.

But almost the entirety of densely populated Mystic is very low and prone to harm, even in today’s storms.

Standing water made Water Street impassable a full day after Wednesday’s overnight deluge.

That storm, a scene setter for Friday night’s, also closed for some time the usual low-lying streets, Route 1 near the Big Y and Gravel Street along the Mystic River.

It’s becoming routine after moderate rain storms to see water being pumped from basements all around Mystic.

There is a suggestion that some of the water in basements in homes around Pearl Street in Mystic, some of them built on fill over tidal waters, is actually river water seeping up.

Both towns that make up Mystic, Stonington and Groton, are certainly aware of the growing threat, with discussion under way.

In my humble opinion, none of the conversation has begun to rise to the level of crisis that seems to be unfolding.

Solutions are elusive, while the mitigation being considered is difficult and expensive and sure to take a long time to execute.

And while the towns have begun, however tentatively, to address the problem, I don’t see much attention being paid by state legislators, who are eventually going to have to marshal some big resources to protect Mystic.

After all, it is not only a beloved community and rich historical treasure, but the engine of the state’s tourism economy.

I worry that many Republicans not only won’t support a modest pace to transition to less polluting electric cars, but are often full-on climate change deniers, people who tell you that flooding today is no different than the conditions that brought on the Hurricane of ’38.

Infrastructure to harden Mystic against a future of catastrophic flooding is going to take a lot of time to design and organize and will cost an enormous amount of money.

Time’s a wasting. A full embrace of the problem needs to begin.

A sober indication of how dire things are is a new study by consultants to Groton, with a final report to be completed soon, that looks at some enormous infrastructure improvements that would help but wouldn’t end the risk.

A flood barrier south of Mystic, more or less following the route of the Amtrak train line, is one idea. A levee along the Mystic River, one that might have to be high enough that it would block views, for instance, of houses on riverfront Gravel Street, is another.

Both would be very controversial and expensive and onerous to design and build.

Meanwhile, the consultants suggest easier short-term solutions, like installing baffles on the storm water system so that it doesn’t back up any more and allow river water to flood streets.

Building new catchment systems above low-lying areas would also help keep storm water from overwhelming the system and flooding streets.

Some problems streets like Gravel and Pearl could be raised, also a problematic solution, the consultants suggest.

The new year has already begun with some blockbuster storms and precipitation and more street flooding than Mystic routinely sees.

All indications are that this is speeding up.

Let’s hope 2024 is the year that more of Mystic officialdom, at local, state and federal levels, becomes more alarmist and responsive the clear and growing danger.

This is the opinion of David Collins.

d.collins@theday.com