Wrap-Up: Vulnerability Assesment Phase I Community Input

Thank you to those who joined our community conversations, completed the survey, and provided input at the different in person and virtual events we had over the last few months.

Our big takeaways were that 1) not all communities in our watershed have the same capacity to respond to climate risks, especially those who have faced deep seated historical issues preventing the development of their capacity to respond, 2) climate risks are complex, and include the increasing prevalence of ticks and lyme disease, other pests and diseases impacting our forests, and 3) despite many vulnerabilities becoming obvious and requiring collective action including extreme heat, coastal and inland flooding, and rising fire risks, our current regulations, zoning, standards, and land use practices aren’t addressing them.

While our initial report, based on your input, is laid out below, this is not the end of community input! There will be a workshop to present initial findings from Fuss and Oneill in mid-July and we will be incorporating this analysis and potential solutions into our WRAP process to be launched shortly thereafter. As always, stay tuned to our website calendar and newsletters, and share with friends, family, and neighbors in the watershed.

Initial Community-Based Responses for the Northern Mystic River Watershed Climate Vulnerability Assessment

Prepared by: Dr. Zbigniew Grabowski

Executive Director, Alliance for the Mystic River Watershed

Executive Summary: Over the last 5 months the Alliance for the Mystic River Watershed has sought broad community input to inform and guide the Climate Vulnerability Assessment performed by Fuss and O’Neill (FO). We sought input through over 10 community events, and a semi-structured survey instrument, with over 30 unique respondents.

Solicitation of input included 1) how respondents experienced climate vulnerabilities in the Mystic River Watershed that fell within FO’s Vulnerability Analysis scope, including climate impacts not considered in their predetermined focal areas, 2) responses to existing area maps of climate related risks and vulnerabilities, and 3) specific locations where climate vulnerability was considered significant. This synthesis provides an overview and the supporting documentation of responses to these items, with emphasis on the major themes that emerged as community concerns to be explored in the Vulnerability assessment’s focus on potential solutions to climate vulnerability within the watershed.

Climate Vulnerabilities in the Mystic River Watershed

Synopsis: Core themes from our community conversations were the 0) the threat to historical and cultural resources that mirror a broader perceived threat to a sense of place and continuity within the mystic river watershed 1) inadequacy of current regulatory frameworks to prevent the exacerbation of climate related risks, 2) the large disparities and differences in how both groups and individuals experience climate vulnerability, and a need to address disparities in the adaptive capacity of different sub-communities within our watershed, and 3) that many specific, site based, climate vulnerabilities are well understood by community members but difficult to represent in current GIS datasets of community assets and vulnerabilities. These themes are cross cutting over the focal areas of fuss and oneills analysis, although specific feedback was obtained for each defined climate vulnerability and also collected in this report (See Appendices 2 and 3 for results for map based feedback and from an Alliance administered survey, respectively).

All community engagement mechanisms indicate significant concerns with the major climate related vulnerabilities FnO has identified for formal assessment, including risks of flooding from pluvial and fluvial sources, future tidal flooding based on CIRCA sea level rise projections in Old Mystic, flooding of critical facilities, to water quality from more intense and frequent precipitation and warmer air and water temperatures, drought conditions affecting surface and groundwaters, ecological and human health risks from extreme heat events.

In line with FnO’s Task 3 scope of work—to explore climate-related risks beyond flooding, water quality, and extreme heat—we report that community members expressed concerns about:

• Tick borne diseases, especially Lyme disease, and tick prevalence connected to milder winters

• Other vector borne diseases

• Tree pests and novel diseases (esp beach leaf disease, spongy moths, emerald ash borers)

• Biotic invasions/invasive species more generally

• Increased winds affecting infrastructure and recreational activities, and

• Fire risks

The Alliance strongly encourages FnO to explore how these risks can be assessed using existing data and integrated into workflows for other risk types being addressed under this contract. More detailed information on how this input was gathered, along with specific locations of climate vulnerability, is provided in the appendices below.

*Appendix 1: Events through which community Input was solicited

This synthesis document focuses on responses obtained after Fuss and O’Neill received an approved QAPP from Region 1 EPA on January 17, 2025. The Alliance had conducted preliminary scoping field work to inform its sampling strategy prior to the approval of the QAPP, including a relationship mapping exercise at our September in person Waterfest gathering, the development of a scavenger hunt app related to climate vulnerabilities launched at a Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center (MPMRC) November Mission: Possible Scavenger Hunt event and community art project, attendance at the September 21, 2024 Harvest Moon Market and Winter Moon Markets at MPMRC.

These scoping activities informed the design of our in person outreach at the MPMRC Maple Moon Market (March 22, 2025), KidsWeek at the MPMRC (April 17-18th, 2025), the Alliance’s Springfest Celebration and Gathering at Long Pond (May 12, 2025), the Town of Groton’s Earth Day Expo (April 24, 2025).

After an initial kick off meeting hosted by Fuss and O’Neill on April 2, 2025 (recording: https://vimeo.com/1072235061/ad524bdc03), the Alliance hosted a series of community action team conversations on April 16 and 17 (in person), April 10, April 22, April 30, May 7, May 15th, and May 29th (online).

Lastly, with support from Anjali Khanna at The Nature Conservancy, the Alliance created and administered a survey to solicit asynchronous responses from community members on issues related to climate vulnerability (survey in appendix 3, results in appendix 4 - separate file).

**Appendix 2: Community Feedback From In Person and Online Gatherings on specific locations of climate vulnerability

Hydrography, Potential Pollution Sources, Open Spaces

Map Tags:

Hydrography–overlaps with Flooding Map–

Shewville Brook overtops near dam (Indiantown Rd) – town issue and our recommendations could benefit town in general–many tribal people are spread out and need to be part of this too, significant role in community

Cider Hill is an important forested soil sponge…held water and slowly released water through 12 week drought

Whitford Pond dam deteriorating

Wooded hillsides and hilltops above River Road and Old Mystic are critical green infrastructure

Oral School property and hillside

Long Pond/Bush Pond dams & dike need repair

Hyde Mill Pentway construction near backside of Bush Pond…wetlands?

Construction always affects (and is affected by) the movement of water especially the tree cutting

Major concern from above and below Quoketaug Hill development re: erosion, mudslides, and sedimentation. Consensus: houses were built too close to the edge, on ledge, and swales are effective but water finding new ways around and down the hill.

General Concern 1: insufficiency of current state and local regulations on upland review areas for wetlands and watercourses, to prevent development within riparian zones and wetlands, partially lack of enforcement, lack of knowledge.

General Concern 2: lack of controls on development that affect runoff rates at watershed scale - need for improved site controls (e.g. other states require post-development runoff controls to match pre-development hydrology / runoff response)

General Concern 3: Lack of protection of forested hillsides and trees more generally to ameliorate watershed runoff response, contribute to groundwater recharge, etc…

Potential Pollution Sources

• Need further study of interactions between different types of septic systems and waste water treatment systems and how their improvement/replacement can be funded without seeming accusatory

• Build awareness around septic and waste water treatment issues

• Need workforce for alternative treatment options to current practices

• State and local policies should support exploration and development of alternatives

• Farm lands, gravel pits near wetland feeding Bush Pond

• North Stonington landfill directly abuts Whitford Brook

• North Stonington Transfer Station drains to Silex Pond and then into Long Pond

• MPTN Silica Mine area (sediment)

• Farms next to wetlands along Lantern Hill Road

• Potential dumping in old quarry on NS/Led border

• Williams Brook impaired…why. Stormwater? Wastewater? Farms? Holdridge’s? Gas station?

• Gas station near wetland Gallup Hill Rd

• Gas station near wetland Pumpkin Hill

• Campground near Hyde Pond wetland

• Seaport Auto on Gold Star Hwy

• “Old Septic Old Mystic” … old school bldg. On the line? Former septic?  Tidal marsh sediment issues? Old mill…but mostly concern about old houses

• River Road…septics, sediment, lawn chemicals

• Run-off from I-95 in water and sediment…tree buffer removed

• Ducks 

Open Spaces for Aquifers, Recreation, Climate Resilience

• Lantern Hill

• Cider Hill forest sponge slow release protects Old Mystic from flood, drought, and extreme heat

• Two old cemeteries Cider Hill & Homestead Rd / Lond Pond Rd (cf Betsy & Bob Graham)

• Hoffman Preserve, Pike Marshall, Benson…

• Wetlands and meadows along Lantern Hill Rd / Aquifer

• Farm fields and meadows/wetlands along Shewville & Pumpkin Hill Rds

• Haleys Brook wetlands

• Old Mystic wetlands and playing fields

• Wooded hillsides protecting Old Mystic, River Road, Bindloss Bk neighborhood

• River Road very popular recreation area

• Oral School property–forest and open space…protects River Road

• Tidal marshes and shoreline wetlands along estuary

• Merritt Open Space on Eccleston Brook

• Fanning cemetery on Lantern Hill Rd and the other old one closer to Aquarion

• 10 acres near the water tower…jewish cemetery there…Groton

• Aquifer on EPTN, Wintechaug Hill…EPTN housing can be regenerative if we get ahead of it

• Need better models of water sensitive development - get beyond open space/developed dichotomy

Historic Resources:

• Main family cemeteries west of Long Pond

• Native sites of significance

• Lantern Hill Pond

• Old Mystic 18th and early 19th c homes, Methodist Church, Old Mystic History Ctr (bank)

• Eastern Pequot Tribal Reservation

• Haleys Brook / historic register homes Groton

• Whitehall cemetery includes Tribal members, sailors

• St Patrick cemetery and Elm Grove

Facilities that are Critical to Community Well-being in high-risk areas for pollution or other climate-related threats

• Lantern Hill Pond (sacred and at risk of invasive overgrowth, etc)

• Bush Pond and EPTN/aquifer Wintechog Hill

• Long Pond, Bush Pond, and Whitford ponds dams

• Wetlands throughout–esp Old Mystic, Whitford Brook, Hyde park

• Aquifer / Aquarion, Lantern Hill Road

• Old Mystic Fire House on No Sto Road

• Old Mystic Post Office

• United Methodist Church

• Businesses such as Old Mystic Inn, Antiques Shop, and Velvet Mill

• Museum

• Ball fields / playgrounds / open space near old elementary school

• Tidal marshes in Old Mystic and along river road

• Heron / Bird feeding areas (Tidal marshes, along upper estuary, williams cove, inlet btw I-95 & Cemetery, and along St Patrick cemetery)

• Highland Wastewater Treatment Plant WPCA

• Concerns about invasive species