Local governments staff up, team up to confront climate change (GBH)

Storms along the Charles River will flood dozens of critical facilities such as fire stations, hospitals and schools in towns down the riverbed, from Newton to Dedham to Franklin. The only grocery store in Wellesley is at risk for flooding, too. And as the decades pass and the climate crisis worsens, the effects will be more significant.

At least, that’s what a recent flooding model from the Charles River Watershed Association projects.

“When you’re talking about some of the impacts that are expected from climate change, while they are local, they are not necessarily jurisdictional. They’re not necessarily defined by political boundaries,” said Julie Wood, a deputy director at the Charles River Watershed Association who oversees the project. “And flooding, of course, is a prime example of that. Flooding doesn’t stop at one town boundary.”