Groton City looks to become more resilient in the face of climate change
Groton — Making the City of Groton more resilient in the face of climate change and rising sea levels is the goal of a plan that the city is undertaking.
City of Groton economic development specialist Cierra Patrick said it’s important for the city to tackle resiliency in the coastal community, which is bordered by the Thames River and Long Island Sound and more than 75% of land is near water. The city is home to major employers, including Electric Boat and Pfizer, about 10,000 residents and the headquarters of Groton Utilities, a public utility.
With the city planning for a projected 20-inch sea level rise by 2050, City Mayor Keith Hedrick said the initiative will help make decisions about what actions to take, from zoning regulations to measures to protect both infrastructure and residences.
The city received a grant for a community resilience plan and is holding public workshops to have a dialogue with the community about potential vulnerabilities and action steps, Patrick said.
Maintaining clean water and watersheds, protecting wildlife and educating the public on coastal resiliency are among top priorities, according to the grant proposal. The planning effort will include identifying potential projects to improve water quality and reduce runoff and sewer overflows, the proposal states.
“Restoring coastal habitats to maintain resiliency and function, and foster diverse, balanced, and abundant populations of fish, birds and wildlife” is another goal, with a priority area being the Birch Plain Creek Watershed and Bakers Cove, according to the proposal.
The city also is seeking to determine the best way to communicate with residents and the 20,000 people who work in the city, with more people expected as Electric Boat expands in the future. A priority is to “develop communication tools to covey the changes anticipated over the coming century, how they impact each individual of the community and establish conduits of communication during hazard events,” the proposal states.
The city will develop strategies to communicate with residents, with a particular focus on reaching the elderly and non-English speakers, as well as the 60% of the city’s population that is considered transient, primarily due to the nearby Naval Submarine Base, the document states.
Patrick said the goal of the plan is to create a prioritized list of actions and potential projects, from how to shore up infrastructure to assessing where the community could benefit from additional trees, which can provide shade and help with stormwater retention.
The city will investigate how to mitigate risks to safety and property, such as further evaluating how to reinforce the sea wall along Shore Avenue or how to make design improvements to the Eastern Point Beach area.
Hedrick said the city will have to figure out how the projected water level rise will affect flood zones, evacuation routes, infrastructure and sewer and water lines. He also said if a storm knocks down a structure, the city will have to determine if it will allow residents to build back, and if so, if there will be any restrictions, such as how far above water level a foundation needs to be.
He said the city has identified Jupiter Point, Beach Pond Road and Shore Avenue as major areas of concern and is reaching out to residents, as well as experts and staff, to get involved in identifying challenges and creating a mitigation plan.
Meanwhile, Groton Utilities is conducting an infrastructure review focusing mainly on sewers, but also on water and electric, Hedrick said.
The city received about a $50,000 grant from the Long Island Sound Futures Fund to complete the resilience plan, while the city will provide some matching funds, Patrick said. The city is working with SLR Consulting and expects to complete the plan by the end of the year.
The city built on an initial community resiliency workshop with The Nature Conservancy in 2019 to develop the grant proposal, Patrick said.
Community members, representatives of the Town of Groton, Pfizer, UConn-Avery Point, the Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments and the Groton-New London Airport participated in a workshop at the end of last month to discuss vulnerabilities and possible improvements, she said.
The city will hold a second workshop on Aug. 12 to reach out to the community and go into more details of what actions the city can take.
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