The Winooski Flood Resilience Collaborative
With leadership from the Montpelier Commission for Recovery and Resilience a planning team has come together to initiate the Winooski Flood Resilience Collaborative. The goal of this effort is to come together to build connections and a sense of common direction across the watershed to increase flood resilience. The collaborative can be a venue for networking, collaboration, education, and advocacy.
The planning team for the Collaborative includes: VT State Recovery Office, Central Vermont and Chittenden County Regional Planning Commissions, Friends of the Winooski, Montpelier Commission for Recovery and Resilience, Cabot Flood Resiliency Task Force, Vermont DEC, Vermont River Conservancy, Vermont Council on Rural Development, and Winooski Natural Resources Conservation District.
May 14 Event Focused on Modelling and Mapping
The most recent convening was hosted on May 14th at Crossett Brook Middle School drawing 70 people from about 20 towns across the watershed. The focus of the event was on mapping and modelling with Rebecca Diehl from UVM and Roy Schiff from SLR presenting. The opening presentations and closing session were recorded and will be posted here shortly.
View Rebecca Diehl’s slides here.
View Roy Schiff’s slides here.
Flooding and Forecasting Virtual Event
As a primer in advance of the May 14th gathering, Warning Coordination Meteorologist Scott Whittier of the National Weather Service Burlington Office provided an online presentation comparing historic storms and flooding events in the Winooski River Basin. The presentation also provided background information about how to use river level forecasts including a preview of a new flood forecasting resource. View a recording of that presentation here.
Inaugural Convening - December 4, 2024
The Commission was proud to help plan and host a gathering of nearly 70 representatives from 24 towns from the Winooski Watershed at Greenway Institute in Montpelier on December 4, 2024. Participants gathered to build connections, share challenges, and to begin finding ways to work together to improve flood resilience throughout the watershed.
Recordings from this event can be viewed here.
Engage in Regional Conversations, the Originally State Goal of MCRR
The success of flood resiliency efforts in any town in the Winooski watershed -- Montpelier, Barre, Waterbury, Cabot, etc… -- ultimately depends on how well we all work together to recognize and solve problems at the watershed level. The phrase “we are in this together” could never be more accurately applied.
Recognizing this, MCRR will do its part to encourage, support, and participate in open lines of communication between all partners and peers in the Winooski watershed. This includes ongoing conversations and collaborations with organizations such as:
Central VT Regional Planning Commission
State Recovery Office
Vermont River Conservancy
Friends of the Winooski
Montpelier Planning Commission
Municipal leaders in all locations
Fellow local resiliency groups
VT Agency of Natural Resources