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Date: 2/16/2022
HUNTINGTON – The first in a series of municipal vulnerability workshops took place in Huntington on Feb. 8, led by environmental planners Mimi Kaplan, Patty Gambarini and Emily Tully of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC), and Carrie Ann Pietrick of the state Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) program.
The workshop is part of a grant funded by the state to help towns and cities in Massachusetts to begin planning for the effects of climate change. Following the completion of the MVP process, towns may qualify for grants to fund disaster preparedness. To date, 167 action grants in the state have been funded.
Locally, climate changes projected by the end of the century include increases in temperatures, which are expected to rise between 4 and 11 degrees, with the largest increases in the winter, and increases of rainfall of up to five days.
Since almost all of Huntington is in the Westfield River Basin, this could mean increased flooding, damage to property, increased runoff, erosion and water quality impacts in Huntington and downstream.
The focus of the MVP program is on preventive and nature-based solutions to risks from climate change, including such solutions as replacing culverts to prevent flooding, of major interest in Huntington; and tree plantings to prevent excessive heat, especially in urban areas.
During the discussion, Leanda Fontaine, an aquatic biologist with the western office of the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, who was on the call, said the state has assessed 33 culverts in Huntington, nine of which are barriers to coldwater streams and are being listed for replacement.
Infrastructure that could be impacted by climate change include dams, bridges, asphalt and dirt roads, culverts and drinking water wells. Two-thirds of the homes in Huntington have wells, and a greater number have septic systems, with only the village center being served by town water and sewer.
Huntington also has the Knightville Dam and Littlleville Dam within its borders, both run by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which also sent a representative to the Feb. 8 Zoom workshop. Dams can be viewed as strengths, by keeping two branches of the Westfield from flooding, and as vulnerabilities if they were to fail, said Kaplan.
The workshop also discussed dirt roads around Norwich Lake washing out from increased development, and flood risks along Pond Brook, which runs from the lake to Route 112. Ownership of the Norwich Lake Dam, which is not being maintained, was also discussed.
Patty Gamborini of the PVPC said a title attorney had researched the dam at Norwich Pond, and found that it is owned by the state. She said previously the town was sent the information to forward to the Office of Dam Safety.
“I don’t know if the town ever did that. I think that’s an important thing to happen to have that material to the state,” she said.
Anastasia Papadopoulos, Knightville Dam safety program and manager with the Army Corps of Engineers, said the Norwich Pond dam is not in the national inventory, so the state does not acknowledge it, and it has been deemed non-jurisdictional.
Papadopoulos also said that Knightville and LIttleville are well-maintained, and inundation maps which list any potential for flooding are available online, as well as condition assessments of the dam.
Sheila Warren, Silver Jackets coordinator for the Army Corps’ New England District, also said the Army Corps has technical assistance about flooding available for communities, and encouraged the town to contact them, especially for information, education and outreach. The Silver Jackets is a program that brings together multiple state, federal, and sometimes tribal and local agencies to learn from one another and jointly apply resources to reduce flood risk.
According to Huntington Police Chief Robert Garriepy, if well-established beaver dams along Pond Brook were to fail due to heavy precipitation, it would put the Norwich Hill fire station and surrounding residences at risk.
He said also at risk in an extreme rainfall event would be Town Hall and Stanton Hall, if the West Branch of the Westfield River were to flood again, worse than in Hurricane Irene in 2011; as well as the Gateway school campus on Littleville Road, which is on the Middle Branch of the Westfield River. Stanton Hall is a cooling center during extreme heat, and Gateway is an evacuation center, Garriepy said, adding that in case of flooding, evacuation might have to take place out of town.
Garriepy said because several of Huntington’s historical buildings are within the 100-year flood zone, damage to the facilities would impact the town.
The next two MVP workshops will focus on environmental features and societal features, followed by a public listening session on a draft plan to be scheduled in May.