Coastal Community Adaptation Strategies in a Changing Climate
Building on several projects related to municipal management of extreme rainfall events (funded by National Sea Grant and NSF EPSCoR Sustainability Solutions Initiative), we are working with the City of Ellsworth to address increasing extreme rainfall conditions and prevent flooding and erosion. We have developed user-friendly models that use GIS and Google Earth to show stormwater infrastructure vulnerabilities and help the community assess and prioritize emergency management needs. Our work with Ellsworth has led to the start of similar projects in Damariscotta and Newcastle, and we intend to make stormwater information available to all municipalities. Resources include an MPBN-produced video for Sustainable Maine Series featuring our work titled “Culvert Operations,” a Municipal Stormwater Guide based on data related to changing seasonality of peak flows and higher peak stormwater events, and a community forum on stormwater planning.