CHANGING CLIMATE CONDITIONS IN MAINE Maine Municipal Association Conference October 7, 2015

WHAT DO WE KNOW ?

MAINE’S CLIMATE IS WARMING

INCREASE IN HIGH HEAT DAYS MAINE’S AGING HOUSING STOCK AND POPULATION

MAINE IS GETTING WETTER

CHANGING PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS AND TIMING

MAINE HAS MORE EXTREME EVENTS

SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE IS RISING

SEA LEVELS ARE RISING

3.2 ±0.4 mm/yr (12.6” per century) Data through November 2014

Opportunities and Challenges WHY DOES IT MATTER? Opportunities and Challenges

MAINE SEASONS ARE CHANGING Growing season has increased 2 weeks Plant hardiness zones shift northwards New agricultural opportunities New agricultural stressors http://tangerinisfarm.com/about-us/history/ https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/Maps.aspx

INCREASED FREQUENCY AND TYPES OF VECTOR BORNE DISEASES

INCIDENCE OF LYME DISEASE IN MAINE https://gateway.maine.gov/cognos/cgi-bin/cognosisapi.dll?b_action=cognosViewer&ui.action=run&ui.object=%2fcontent%2ffolder[%40name%3d'CDC EOHP EPHT AVR']%2freportView[%40name%3d'Maine Environmental Public Health Tracking (EPHT) Network - Public Data Portal']&cv.header=false&cv.toolbar=false&p_Content_area=Lyme

INCIDENCE OF LYME DISEASE IN MAINE BY AGE CLASS https://gateway.maine.gov/cognos/cgi-bin/cognosisapi.dll?b_action=cognosViewer&ui.action=run&ui.object=%2fcontent%2ffolder[%40name%3d'CDC EOHP EPHT AVR']%2freportView[%40name%3d'Maine Environmental Public Health Tracking (EPHT) Network - Public Data Portal']&cv.header=false&cv.toolbar=false&p_Content_area=Lyme

INCREASED HEAT STRESS INCREASED DEMAND ON GRID FOR AIR CONDITIONING AGING HOUSING STOCK AND POPULATION: NEED FOR COOLING CENTERS STRESSOR FOR AGRICULTURE STRESSOR FOR BUILDING MATERIALS MAINE’S AGING HOUSING STOCK AND POPULATION

WATER CARRYING INFRASTRUCTURE BUILT USING STANDARDS BASED ON HISTORIC CONDITIONS MORE RAIN ON FROZEN GROUND

WATER QUALITY PEAK FLOWS CHANGING INCREASED RUN-OFF WARMING TEMPERATURES

OCEAN ACIDIFICATION ATMOSPHERIC EFFECTS: GLOBAL OCEANS ARE 30% MORE ACIDIC LOCAL EFFECTS FROM LAND-BASED CAUSES: FRESH WATER IS MORE ACIDIC THAN SEA WATER ORGANIC MATTER CAN ALSO INCREASE ACIDITY. LARGE PHYTOPLANKTON BLOOMS RESULTING FROM EXCESS NUTRIENTS DECOMPOSE AND RELEASE CO2

INCREASED COASTAL EROSION

LARGER AREAS FLOOD

INCREASED NUISANCE FLOODING

Brunswick culverts blown out in storm replaced, road to reopen

Officials had closed a section of the road after a stream became too powerful for a culvert. Rain overwhelmed the pipe under the road, flooding the stream below with nearly six feet of water. A temporary culvert had been installed last year. It was replaced by two culverts Thursday, and the town will eventually put in a permanent fix.

Municipal News Today This culvert which is a 60 inch culvert would normally take that type of flow over a longer period, but in that short of period that carried down so much debris from the south to this end," said Gray.

Maine road crews work to repair damage from storm BDN 10/5/2015 “The thing was, it was in such a short period of time we got that much water,” Dale Rowley, Waldo County Emergency Management Agency director, said Friday. “The stormwater management systems couldn’t handle that much flow in that little time.” Waldo County already had exceeded the $180,000 needed for a Maine county to declare a state of emergency schools were closed Thursday because buses couldn’t get through water-damaged roads.

WHAT’S BEING DONE AT THE MUNICIPAL LEVEL?

MANY DIFFERENT APPROACHES Education and Outreach Comprehensive Planning Vulnerability Assessments Adaptation Planning Ordinance Language