$20M in state funds will help Maine communities protect themselves from climate change

File photo / Laurie Schreiber Climate change has a long reach, as shown, when an eerie orange haze drifted to Maine from West Coast wildfires in 2020.

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By Staff

A new round of state funding may help 13 Maine communities shore up their defenses against the effects of global climate change such as flooding, rising sea levels and extreme storms.

A total of $19.9 million in grants was awarded by the Maine Department of Transportation through the Maine Infrastructure Adaptation Fund.

The fund was announced in December by Gov. Janet Mills as a recommendation of the state’s climate action plan, Maine Won’t Wait.

The money, from the Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan, will go toward projects to address flooding along ocean shorelines and riverfronts, protect stormwater and wastewater systems, install culverts to reduce flooding, and ensure energy availability during extreme storms.

For example, in Boothbay Harbor, a grant will be used for design and construction work protecting a wastewater treatment facility from future sea level rise and storm surge.

The city of Bath plans to make improvements in local drainage areas. The town of Winslow expects to increase capacity of its stormwater system.

“Over the past two decades, the once-in-a-hundred-years events have started to happen more and more often,” said Winslow Town Manager Erica LaCroix. “The increased severity of storms has surpassed the capacity of our aging stormwater system, and businesses and residents have suffered significant losses as a result.”

According to a recent study, York, Kennebunk and Wells have $645.5 million in property at risk from rising sea levels and are “highly vulnerable” to climate related property devaluation.