The Town of Brookline is excited to announce it was awarded $145,000 in climate resilience grant funding to develop a hydraulic model of the Town’s stormwater drainage system and complete a system evaluation and vulnerability assessment for current and future storm events.
The Town, along with the selected consultant, will develop outreach and educational materials to engage the public on this forward-thinking project, which builds on Brookline’s Urban Forest and Climate Resiliency Master Plan completed in 2021. These funds will allow the community to strengthen and expand its climate resiliency efforts by evaluating critical drainage infrastructure below the ground and better understand how it interfaces with open stream channels, ponds and the Muddy River.
Awarded by the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) program, which is administered by the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA), these competitive grants support communities in identifying climate hazards, developing strategies to improve resilience, and implementing priority actions to adapt to climate change.
Brookline’s project is one of 79 projects to have received action grant funding in the latest round of applications.
“Climate change poses an undeniable threat to our town and its future,” said Town Administrator Charles Carey. “It’s critical that we plan for resilient, sustainable, and innovative practices to safeguard our environment and protect our resources and community for generations to come. This MVP grant will allow us to take tangible steps to ensure Brookline is prepared.”
More than a century ago, natural brooks, such as Village Brook, Tannery Brook, Smelt Brook and Saw Mill Brook, once flowed through the valleys and low-lying areas bordering hills. Most of these brooks have been culverted to allow for development and to mitigate health concerns related to mosquitoes and malaria during a time when these were life-threatening concerns. These culverts were well-designed for the era and more than capable of handling the stream base flow and stormwater runoff. However, with changes in land use, increased impervious cover and greater storm frequency and volume, the capability of Brookline’s drainage system to adapt to all these stressors is largely unknown.
Completing this project will allow the Town to better prepare for future flooding and develop strategies to adapt to our changing climate.
Community members interested in being notified about project meetings and updates should get in touch with Maria Rose, Environmental Engineer at mrose2@brooklinema.gov or Robert King, Director of Engineering and Transportation at rking@brooklinema.gov.
The MVP program, created in 2017, provides funding for community-driven climate resilience planning and action. Ninety-nine percent, or 349 out of 351 of the Commonwealth’s cities and towns, are participating in the program and over $131.5 million has been awarded for local climate resilience planning and projects.
