Tony Cangello Asher Plange Nic Dupuis

Mission Statement To fully develop the climate adaptation tool to analyze the impacts of sea-level rise on the drinking water and waste water treatment facilities along coastal Massachusetts. The tool will be applied to the treatment facilities to identify their risk level of flooding from sea level rise due to climate change. The tool and resulting analyses will act as a reference to help the facilities take proactive actions in order to mitigate the impacts. The information generated by the tool will be useful for a variety of stakeholders with influence or authority over actions taken at the facilities in order to reduce their risk.

Project Goals and Objectives To develop a tool that will quantify the vulnerability of a water treatment facility regulated by Mass DEP. 1. Identify risk factors used in earlier study 2. Identify additional risk factors 3. Produce weights for each factor To apply the finished tool to select facilities. 1. Identify coastal facilities to test the tool on 2. Gather data from application and package it in cohesive manner for stakeholders and officials to use as well as facility managers.

Developing the Factors Began with large list of specific factors Too detailed/ specific Narrowed down to most significant for flood risk Left out environmental impacts, interconnections, etc. More general tool = wider application to facilities Many crossover factors Also some plant-specific factors

Developing the “Weights” Most prominent addition to this tool Adds depth to the tool Wastewater and drinking water specialists at Mass DEP Most important criteria identified first Location in FEMA and/ or ACE Zones Elevation of facility Then least important Elevation of storage tanks Membership to Mass WARN Assessed importance from there

Wastewater FactorsWeights FEMA Flood Zones* 16% ACE Hurricane Inundation Zones* 16% Elevation of Facility 15% Past Flooding* 8% Design flow vs. actual flow** 8% Precautionary Protective Structures** 7% Surface/Ground discharge 7% Longevity of backup power 5% Percent of processes that can run 5% Rainfall induced flow* 5% Presence of equalization basins 4% Member of Mass WARN 4% * = Factors used by 2011 group ** = Factors suggested by 2011 group

Drinking Water FactorsWeights FEMA Flood Zones* 16% ACE Hurricane Inundation Zones* 16% Elevation of Facility 15% Surface or Ground Water (under/ not under influence) Sources** 10% Treatment processes 10% Past flooding* 8% Precautionary Protective Structures** 7% Onsite vs. Portable power 5% Longevity of power 5% Percent of processes that can run 5% Member of Mass WARN 2% Elevation of Storage Tanks** 1% * = Factors used by 2011 group ** = Factors suggested by 2011 group

The Facilities 50 facilities (25 wastewater, 25 drinking water) Identified by stratified random sample Drinking water Community Transient Non-community Non-transient Non-community Wastewater Municipal Privately owned

Application of the Tool Some data provided by Mass DEP Discharge (wastewater) Water source (drinking water) Members of Mass WARN GIS used for FEMA Flood Zones ACE Hurricane Inundation Zones Elevations Survey sent to each facility Cover letter addressed from Ann Lowery (Mass DEP) Drinking water survey Wastewater survey With EPA data Without EPA data Follow-up calls for those that didn’t respond

Work ahead of us BETA testing the tool Select few randomly picked facilities Gauge reactions and usefulness Packaging the tool/ results Present in simple and useful form Set standard for stakeholders and officials to base mitigating actions upon