Uxbridge Community Snapshot

Uxbridge was part of the MVP 2.0 pilot program and worked on a Seed Project to create a pocket forest. They have also completed four MVP Action Grants focused on water infrastructure, vector-borne disease control, and dam removal.

Overview

Uxbridge is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, in the central part of the state. They have a population of 14,526 people and an area of 29.6 square miles. Climate hazards present in Uxbridge include inland flooding, severe winter storms, drought, wildfires, and other severe weather.

Core Team

The MVP 2.0 Core team is a group of municipal staff and Community Liaisons who work together to identify local climate resilience priorities and implement a project that supports those priorities.

Uxbridge's Community Liaisons include: 

• Native Populations
• Youth
• Low-income residents
• Transportation disadvantaged residents

Community Resilience Priorities

Community resilience priorities are practical actions created during the MVP 2.0 Planning Grant process. They were shaped through community input, thoughtful discussion about changing local needs, and feedback from Environmental Justice groups and other community members.

Uxbridge, in partnership with their Core Team, identified the following priorities through the MVP 2.0 process.

Priorities		Potential Actions
Priority 1: Improve Waterways and Flood Management.			Potential Actions:  Check dams on the Mumford River and remove appropriate dams to create flood resiliency. Build on existing work on existing reports/ data analysis on dam hazard potential and condition. Potential project: which dams in the Mumford Watershed, through their removal offer the most resiliency – develop a priority system based on resiliency Use nature-based solutions/ LID / restoration on river edge and flood plains for flood resiliency. Leverage flood prone areas for the development of any new parks, called "stormwater parks". Ensure new park designs incorporate hazard mitigation and resiliency, such as net-gains in tree coverage, permeable surfaces, or bioengineered stabilization for slopes. Create a coalition / taskforce for waterways management
Priority 2: Enhance the overall accessibility of the internet amongst the vulnerable populations,  especially amongst the older populations, the youth and those who cannot afford personal computers and internet bills.			Potential Actions:  Spaces or networks where individuals can access computers and have support  (especially for those who are semi-skilled and have limited capacity) Create a network of individuals who have internet access and skills to connect with those who don’t Create a plan for multimedia, regional communication system/network for warning about extreme weather events and response measures
Priority 3: Improve invasive species management			Potential Actions:  Possible project: An integrated Invasive Species Management and Emergency Response Plan which would include mapping, education and local risk factors Create a taskforce and public outreach/ community activation program to do develop these plans. This taskforce would be a coalition of town officials, nonprofits and community leaders
Priority 4: Enhance community ability to withstand extreme heat and drought events. Reduce the impact on vulnerable groups.			Potential Actions:  Provide backup power for heating and cooling in extreme conditions, particularly adding them to shelters and/or mobile units. Identify critical power infrastructure and the populations most at risk. Create transportation options for the elderly/affected groups during extreme weather events Create a plan and implement the creation of a network of cooling shelters/transportation options. Incorporate low-impact development (LID) measures to reduce heat island impacts in town, for example, install rain gardens or plantings as natural mitigation measures to reduce Heat Island Effect. Create a nature-based plan to create cooling areas to mitigate heat island effects. Possible Project: Identify heat islands, create a plan to implement pocket forests with a plan for ongoing community-involved maintenance (look at Worcester as a case study).
Priority 5: Enhance community awareness and assist them to prepare for extreme events/ climate change through capacity building.			Potential Actions:  A campaign to educate all segments of the community about hazard mitigation using all media Promote available educational materials, regarding disasters and measures people can take to limit risks. Develop and distribute educational materials for residents about wetlands, flooding, and stormwater. Raise public awareness about best management practices for drainage areas around waterways and wetlands such as LID, rain gardens/barrels and buffers to runoff. Create a campaign to educate citizens about the emergency management plan. town resources such as planning efforts, agreements, shelters and to ensure that residents know how to access these resources when they are needed.
Priority 6: Enhance regional emergency preparedness and develop an emergency preparedness plan with communication strategies and evacuation routes.			Potential Actions: To be determined.
Priority 7: Acquire land to convert pavement to greenspace to enhance riverfront buffers.			Potential Actions: To be determined.
Priority 8: Update regulations to consider climate change impacts.			Potential Actions:  Review LID recommendations Establish overlay district
Priority 9: Develop and implement a shelter plan in case of an emergency.			Potential Actions: To be determined.

Uxbridge's MVP 2.0 Seed Project: Pocket Forest

Uxbridge received funding to implement a Seed Project that addresses one or more of their climate resilience priorities.

Uxbridge will be creating a pocket forest for habitat restoration, improve stormwater absorption, and engage the community. This forest will be designed to support pollinators, reduce the presence of invasive species, and enhance ecological resilience. The pocket forest will also provide opportunity for educational programming, environmental stewardship, gathering and recreation, as well as serve as a cooling hub. 

The activities of this project include:

1. Assess feasibility of identified project site through review of land ownership and zoning, environmental and engineering assessments, regulatory and permitting compliance and determination of alignment with municipal priorities and community needs.
2. Modification of public space through installation of native plants.
3. Sustainment of community involvement through kick off events, partnership with schools, youth groups and seniors.     

Uxbridge's Action Grant Projects

The MVP Action Grant provides funding to communities that want to take important steps to prepare for climate change, such as dealing with extreme weather, flooding, rising sea levels, and extreme heat. 

Integrated Water Infrastructure Vulnerability Assessment and Climate Resiliency Plan (FY19)

Uxbridge conducted an Integrated Water Infrastructure Vulnerability Assessment and Climate Resiliency Plan. The project addressed water infrastructure and included a review of local bylaws with consideration for green infrastructure and nature-based solutions, and a robust public outreach and education program. 

• Uxbridge Water Infrastructure Project Website

Integrated Vector-borne Disease Control Program (FY20)

The Town of Uxbridge developed an integrated vector-borne disease management plan. This included (1) a tailored, biological-based and regional approach to mosquito control, (2) replacing highly degraded priority culverts, and (3) strengthening the emergency communications plans and systems in order to reach all members of the community.

• Uxbridge FY20 MVP Action Grant Case Study
• Integrated Vector-Borne Disease Control Program Website

Home Brew Dam and Whitin Pond Dam Removal (FY23)

This project conducted field investigations, design, and permitting for removal of the Home Brew Dam.  It also initiated community conversations, visioning processes, and key data collection to explore the possibility of removing the Whitin Pond Dam, which was 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 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. 

• Uxbridge FY23 MVP Action Grant Case Study

Home Brew Dam Removal and Community Engagement (FY26)

This project will complete bidding and implementation for removal of the Home Brew Dam, which is owned and operated by the Town of Uxbridge. The project will be used as a learning laboratory opportunity for the Town and other communities to document and showcase the process of dam removal and river/stream restoration as a means of launching a larger conversation about what dam removal entails, what the process looks like on the ground, and how an ecosystem recovers post-removal.  The project will alleviate risks associated with upstream flooding of the Town's public water supply well infrastructure, and also alleviate the risk of downstream impacts from a catastrophic failure should the unsafe dam collapse. The restoration features a unique adaptive management approach for a light touch on the landscape and decreased implementation costs, while allowing for necessary adaptations to protect infrastructure as the stream finds its own course and reestablishes a stable channel after dam removal. The restored floodplain and wetland or riparian habitats in the existing impoundment will help to buffer large storm events and provide additional resilience in the future. The project also restores passage from the West River (a coldwater fishery) to Meadow Brook and upstream tributary streams.

Questions?

Learn more about the MVP 2.0 Planning Grant  Learn more about the MVP Action Grant  Reach out to your MVP Regional Coordinator