Area Officials Applaud Increase in Climate Resilience Funding – Everett Independent everettindependent.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from everettindependent.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Wicked Local
The Amelia Earhart Dam may be out of view for most Somerville residents, but the dam has the potential to devastate the communities around the Mystic River, and local experts are working on ways to stop that disaster before it happens.
Many of the communities around the Mystic River were built on marshlands, which are tidal and would flood naturally twice a day as the sea came in and out. When the Amelia Earhart Dam was constructed in 1966, it controlled the river to prevent natural flooding, which led to an increase in development along the marshland.
“In the 1960s, when the river was dammed, that made sure that the river was always high and there were no mud flats. So communities built to the edge of the river,” said Julie Wormser, deputy director of the Mystic River Watershed Association. “The problem is that the dam is not very high, and they did not anticipate rising sea levels when it was constructed.”
Wicked Local
The Amelia Earhart Dam may be out of view for Arlington residents, but the dam has the potential to devastate the local communities around the Mystic River, and local experts on working on ways to stop that disaster before it happens.
Many of the communities around the Mystic River were built on marshlands, which are tidal and would flood naturally twice a day as the sea came in and out. When the Amelia Earhart Dam was constructed in 1966, it controlled the river to prevent natural flooding, which led to an increase in development along the marshland.
“In the 1960s, when the river was dammed, that made sure that the river was always high and there were no mud flats. So communities built to the edge of the river,” said Julie Wormser, deputy director of the Mystic River Watershed Association. “The problem is that the dam is not very high, and they did not anticipate rising sea levels when it was constructed.”