Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP)

MVP map 2020

What is the MVP Program

Uxbridge has been awarded three Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Program Action Grants by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Commonwealth’s MVP program is designed to:

  • Help municipalities define climate related hazards they may face
  • Understand how communities may be impacted by climate change
  • Help towns identify present and future vulnerabilities to climate change and identify strengths they have against climate change
  • Identify opportunities to take priority actions identified through the planning process

There are two types of MVP Grants: MVP Planning Grants and MVP Action Grants1. MVP Planning Grants award funding to help towns assess their vulnerability to climate change impacts. That funding is used to help towns build community resilience against the effects of climate change. Communities that receive the grants also receive the MVP Program Municipality designation from the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.

MVP Action Grants are designed to help towns act against the effects of climate change. The grants give funding to municipalities so they can take important climate adaptation actions. The money is given to projects that are designed to protect towns against extreme weather, inland flooding, coastal flooding, severe heat, or increased pest populations like ticks and mosquitoes.

Why the MVP Grant is Important to Uxbridge

In Uxbridge, our greatest weaknesses to climate change are related to natural water systems such as rivers streams and wetlands, artificial water systems like wells and the public water supply, and insect-borne diseases. As the climate changes, the existing rain and snowfall patterns that our water infrastructure was built for are at risk for breaking down or failing completely. Long periods of lower than normal precipitation can lead to droughts and put a strain on our water supplies. On the other hand, there is a greater chance of disruptive flooding due to increased precipitation2. Floods can damage private property, town infrastructure and potentially contaminate municipal water supplies and private wells3. Severe floods can destroy property and cause human injury and death. Flooding also increases the amount of standing water which can lead to increased mosquito populations in the area. Increased mosquito populations are linked to an increased risk of mosquito borne disease, as we saw during the 2019 EEE outbreak.

The MVP Grants are allowing Uxbridge to design and implement improvements to our water systems and infrastructure, upgrade our emergency communications, and improve our capacity for mosquito control in eco-friendly ways. 

Examples of Past MVP Grants

82% of towns in Massachusetts have received assistance through the MVP Program. Towns have used the grants to address air quality, dam removal and upgrades, flood mitigation, energy resilience, wetland restoration, and other climate related projects5.

The grant funding ranges from $46,000 for some towns to conduct resiliency planning up to $1.5 million given to Boston to begin upgrading Moakley Park along the coast4. Uxbridge received more than $500,000 in MVP funding, well above average. That we received such a substantial grant really highlights the importance of taking action against the effects of climate change in our community.

Uxbridge MVP Core Team

The MVP Projects are run by a core team made up of professionals from multiple town departments. The Core Team meets at least once a month to discuss the progress of the MVP projects, and many of them lend their expertise to project tasks. For information about the members of the core team, click here.

Name

Department

Erin Hightower

Board of Health 

Paul Hutnak

Department of Public Works

Emily Petro

Conservation 

Joann Lindenmayer

Board of Health

Marc Montminy

Police Department

Benn Sherman

Department of Public Works

David Tapscott

Board of Health

Cay DenHerder

Board of Health

 

The Uxbridge MVP Grants

Uxbridge was awarded three MVP Action Grants. A brief overview of the grants is provided here with more details about each grant, including the task descriptions, status and reports if the task is complete.

MVP Action Grant 1:

For detailed descriptions, deliverables, and the completion status of each task, click here

Project Title: Integrated Water Infrastructure Vulnerability Assessment and Climate Resiliency Plan

Total Project Cost: $397,381.25

Project Summary: Uxbridge will conduct an Integrated Water Infrastructure Vulnerability Assessment and Climate Resiliency Plan. The project will address water infrastructure and include a review of local bylaws for consideration of green infrastructure and nature-based solutions. It will also include a public outreach and education program.

Tasks

  1. Road Stream Crossing Assessment
  2. Dams Assessment
  3. Green Infrastructure and Low-Impact Development Assessment
  4. Water Supply Resiliency Analysis
  5. Integrated Management Plan

 

MVP Action Grant 2

For detailed descriptions, deliverables, and the completion status of each task, click here

Project Title: Integrated Vector-borne Disease Control Program

Project Summary: The town of Uxbridge seeks to develop an integrated vector-borne disease management plan. This will include a tailored, biology based and regional approach to mosquito control; replacing priority culverts as identified in MVP Grant 1; and strengthening the emergency communications plans and systems in order to reach all members of the community.

Total Project Cost: $354,171.31

Tasks

  1. Mosquito Prevention and Control
  2. Assess Vernal Pool Locations
  3. Culvert Design and Permitting
  4. Regional Conference
  5. Update Open Space Plan
  6. Strengthen Emergency Communications
  7. Community Outreach

MVP Action Grant 3

For detailed descriptions, deliverables, and the completion status of each task, click here

Project Title: Home Brew Dam and Whitin Pond Dam Removal

Total Project Cost: $185,450

Project Summary: Based on a grant proposal prepared jointly by the Town of Uxbridge and Fuss & O’Neill, the Town of Uxbridge has been awarded an FY23 EEA Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Program Action Grant to conduct field investigations, design, and permitting for removal of the Home Brew Dam, which is owned and operated by the Town of Uxbridge. It will also initiate community conversations, visioning processes, and key data collection to explore the possibility of removing the Whitin Pond Dam, which has no apparent owner and is currently abandoned and unmaintained. Removing these two dams would ultimately have multiple benefits, including reducing the risk of upstream flooding or downstream impacts from a catastrophic failure, reducing specific risks to the downstream low-income housing complex and the Town’s water supply well infrastructure, and also simultaneously restoring natural floodplain and wetland or riparian habitats in the existing impoundments that will help to buffer large storm events and provide additional resilience.

For Press Releases click here.

Tasks

  1. Project Kickoff, Management and Reporting
  2. Public Involvement and Community Engagement in FY23
  3. Home Brew Dam Removal Feasibility Study
  4. Whitin Pond Dam Removal – Preliminary Explorations and Outreach
  5. Pre-Application Meeting with Regulatory Authorities

 

Citations:

  1. Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) program | Mass.gov. https://www.mass.gov/municipal-vulnerability-preparedness-mvp-program. Accessed June 17, 2020.
  2. MA Climate Change Clearinghouse. https://www.resilientma.org/changes/changes-in-precipitation. Accessed June 17, 2020.
  3. Recommendations for Private Wells Inundated by Flooding | Mass.gov. https://www.mass.gov/service-details/recommendations-for-private-wells-i.... Accessed June 17, 2020.
  4. Baker-Polito Administration Awards $12 Million to Municipalities to Prepare for Climate Change | Mass.gov. https://www.mass.gov/news/baker-polito-administration-awards-12-million-.... Accessed June 23, 2020.
  5. MVP program to award $8 million in grants to address climate impact. https://www.mma.org/mvp-program-to-award-8-million-in-grants-to-address-.... Accessed June 17, 2020.