With every blessing that comes with being located next to a river, there are risks that jeopardize the well-being of the city and its residents. Take, for example, Fall River, Massachusetts, a once-vibrant post-industrial city in New England which at one point was the second-leading cotton textile producer in the world. Located along the Taunton River, the city has approximately five miles of shoreline exposed to the open ocean, with the rest being constituted of a semi-protected bay. As of late, the city’s infrastructure has continued to deteriorate as a result of climate change paired with underfunding and aging, increasing the threat of natural disasters and prompting elected officials and residents alike to consider resiliency strategies to mitigate these threats.
“Time and time again, the prevalence of flooding in Fall River during intense rainstorms serves as a testament to the failure of its aging infrastructure, leaving many populations vulnerable to damage, and encouraging the city to address its flooding resiliency.”
Home to an estimated 89,420, Fall River has already experienced various unfortunate situations resulting from storms. Take, for example, in March 2010, when nearly sixteen inches of intense rains fell in a short span of thirty-six hours, overwhelming the wastewater infrastructure and resulting in massive flooding and the emergence of sinkholes in the Mount Hope Avenue and Columbia Street areas of the city. With these sudden floods, basements filled up with water, causing thousands of dollars of damage to local homeowners. This property damage, along with tree damage, utility failures, power outages, and coastal erosion ultimately resulted in millions of dollars worth of damage for the city. Furthermore, in August 2018, the city experienced another traumatic series of flooding following an intense rainstorm that flooded the city’s Braga Bridge and caused serious damage to vehicles and buildings alike. In certain places across the city, flooding resulted in nearly four feet of water clogging the streets. Time and time again, the prevalence of flooding in Fall River during intense rainstorms serves as a testament to the failure of its aging infrastructure, leaving many populations vulnerable to damage, and encouraging the city to address its flooding resiliency.
“By identifying potential hazards and threats before they arise, mitigation and recovery plans can be formulated to reduce the severity and help the city quickly recover and continue to provide essential services.”
As a result of these recent floodings, city officials have realized the urgency to gather and identify the problems in Fall River’s sewage system to compile a Community Resiliency Plan. This report, spearheaded by City Planner Paul Ferland, analyzes the factors that contributed to these failures. In the piece, Ferland claims that aging infrastructure, such as pumps, pipes, roads, and bridges, has played a big role in the flooding. Given that the Fall River sewage system was constructed in 1948, this deterioration comes with little-to-no surprise. Additionally, with the high costs of maintaining and paying for infrastructure and services, the ability of the city to withstand heavy rains has decreased. With these factors in mind, Ferland, along with other city officials, hosted a public workshop, where workers and residents alike could help draft solutions. In this workshop, votes to clean, maintain, replace, upgrade, and reinforce existing utilities were nearly unanimous. Similarly, participants felt that mitigating and eliminating flooding issues by developing detour alert plans in vulnerable neighborhoods like Stafford Square and Davol Square would be critical in minimizing public safety issues.
“For a city trying to turn a page in its history book and revive its industrial-era successes in the present day, doing away with its antiquated sewage infrastructure and replacing it with sustainable wastewater treatment will pay dividends for years to come.”
In the bigger picture, however, the solution to Fall River’s flooding crisis starts by adopting a new mentality, one that places heavier emphasis on planning and prevention, rather than complacent reactivity. Rather than simply responding to flooding incidents by pouring money into rehabilitative projects that place band-aids on a gushing bullet hole, laying out a comprehensive resilience plan for the city’s sewage system would pay dividends by minimizing the number of future incidents by providing sufficient resources and attention needed now. By identifying potential hazards and threats before they arise, mitigation and recovery plans can be formulated to reduce the severity and help the city quickly recover and continue to provide essential services. For a city trying to turn a page in its history book and revive its industrial-era successes in the present day, doing away with its antiquated sewage infrastructure and replacing it with sustainable wastewater treatment will pay dividends for years to come.
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