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Date: 6/1/2021
HATFIELD – The town of Hatfield hosted a listening session on May 24 to discuss its draft of Hatfield’s Municipal Vulnerability Plan (MVP).
Town Administrator Marlene Michonski moderated the session. She introduced Andrew Smith, regional representative from the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. Michonski explained, the town works with a team of consultants from Dodson and Flinker. That team was led by Dillon Sussman, who was also in attendance.
Additional attendees included Stephanie Slysz, Planning Board member; Fire Chief Bob Flaherty; Ed Jaworski from the Board of Selectmen; and Bob Wagner, Planning Board member.
“Many do not know that the project was funded by a grant from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts – the Vulnerability Preparedness Program,” she said.
Michonski provided some background, stating, “The town applied for a grant and received $20,000 from the state, for the town to look at our vulnerabilities, and strengths, related to climate control. We held a number of workshops in the fall and it was well attended by residents from the community, businesses, community leaders, and it was very successful.”
She went on to say, “As a result of that, a draft report has been developed which has been available on the town's website and also advertised on the town’s Facebook page.”
Michonski shared some visual slides with participants. She explained that what the town did was put them in a position to apply for future funding, which will allow for actions to be implemented for the town's climate resilience.
The town of Hatfield must be MVP certified to be eligible for state funding. Michonski said she believes the town's intent is to continue moving forward with their plans to look at those areas.
One threat to Hatfield’s town, infrastructure, society, and environment, is natural hazards. Some areas in which they identified include assessment along the Connecticut River Dike and at the Wastewater Treatment Plant.
In addition, top actions for the town include plan for relocation of Town Center critical facilities out of the floodplain, town-wide drainage and stormwater study and strategy, incentivize climate resilient farming, and a plan for future climate-resilient development.
Michonski said, “We are experiencing climate change … we’re seeing that happen – warmer days, at times, a shortage of rainfall, and even the winter months – we haven’t seen harsh winters to what we’re accustomed to seeing in previous years.”
Sussman said, “The point of the MVP process is to get sort of on the ground knowledge and wisdom about how climate change might impact Hatfield. So, one of the things that the state provided to help the community do that is some data that is downscaled to climate change projections.”
He added, everyone involved thought through the data and how climate change may impact natural hazards such as flooding, severe storms, drought, etc. With the workshops that took place, people identified areas in Hatfield that were most vulnerable to these hazards and then tried to find ways to mitigate those vulnerabilities.
In the state of Massachusetts, through observed data over the past century, annual temperatures and precipitation averages have increased.
Slysz noted that the precipitation increases have been a result of heavier rain all at once, rather than more rain over time. This has had an impact on how much water the ground can absorb, along with infrastructure.
The average annual temperature is predicted to rise between three to 6.4 degrees fahrenheit. Average winter temperatures will also rise from 25 to 28 to 33. Summer and fall will have the “biggest temperature max increases,” explained Michonski.
She went on to say, “Days over 90 degrees will increase from six days per year to 16 to 41 days per year.” Temperatures over 95 degrees will also increase from one day per year to two to seven days per year.
Sussman said with this data, there is a lot of unpredictability. “Temperature is a little bit more predictable, we can expect the temperature is going to increase significantly. Precipitation is going to be variable… it’s likely to come in bigger events, with more runoff and less infiltration, less recharge.” With this will come periods of drought and over time, seasons will be disrupted.
According to the Hatfield Water Superintendent, the water is about six to seven inches lower than usual.
On the Connecticut River Dike, erosion has taken place about four to six feet over the last few decades, which has been noted and is watched carefully. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean a flood will take place.
Participants discussed a variety of possibilities and predictions for the future of Hatfield. The MVP draft will eventually go toward a master plan.
For additional information on the Municipal Vulnerability Plan, visit www.townofhatfield.org or the town's Facebook page.