As the climate changes, obsolete dams put Mass. at risk for flooding similar to Vermont - WGBH
Thank you GBH News for the important article on the dangers of obsolete dams in a changing climate.
“A lot of these structures are just either totally left forgotten or are really not designed for the strongest storms, the more increased rainfall that we're seeing here in the Northeast with climate change," says Climate Resilience Specialist Robert Kearns.
This article highlights our ongoing work to advocate for defunct dam removal across the watershed, starting with the Watertown Dam, Charles River Dam in Natick, and Eagle Dam in Wrentham. Additionally, the piece stresses the importance of our work with the Charles River Flood Model to understand future, more severe storms.
“Making that kind of information more widely available, piece by piece, is one of the ways the Charles River Watershed Association is trying to address the problem. They worked with 20 cities and towns along the Charles River to create a simulation of flooding along the Charles, using climate projections for 2030 and 2070. Using those projections, the project is helping those municipalities make changes now to prevent flooding in the future,” writes Craig Lemoult.
