Keene Plans to Adapt to Climate Change

Keene sits on the bottom of what was once a glacial lake bed.
Mountains surround the town and a river runs through it.
So when it rains, it often floods.
In 2005, flooding submerged about a third of the city and forced nearly one thousand people to evacuate.
Scientists say climate change will likely cause more intense and frequent storms.
City Councilor Jim Duffy says it’s time for the city to get prepared.
3:07 1151 local governments are leading the way they’re the ones trying to figure this out, because they’re dealing with it without any help, they have no choice, and if we don’t do something we’re going to suffer a high high cost
Keene is now piloting a program to see how well U-S cities can adapt to climate change.
Keene City Planner Mikaela Engert says the process involved all city department heads, medical and social service representatives, and emergency personnel brainstorming on key issues.
The result is a 75 page document that includes everything from green building codes and stormwater management, to retraining and providing loans for workers in companies affected by climate change.
1118 :29“Those people who rely on snow plowing in the winter, sugaring, the ski industry that sort of thing, as those industries are impacted they may find themselves having to shift jobs from that industry to something a little different”
Temperature patterns in New Hampshire are predicted to eventually mirror that of North Carolina.
Assistant City Manager Med Kopsinski says that means buildings may need stronger rooftops to handle wetter, heavier snow and ice.
And building codes may have to change to manage the pests that come with warmer temperatures.
1135 :31 one of the things we pay very little attention to in New Hampshire for example is termites and as the temperature does rise we will eventually face dealing with termites and that’s going to be a very big change in how we build buildings.
One of the most surprising finds in the planning: how to make sure the city can feed itself if roads are washed out or other parts of the country can’t deliver enough food.
City Councilor Jim Duffy –who chaired the planning committee -says they’ve set goals to increase the local food supply by 20-percent.
1148 other areas of the country where we’ll get our food from, droughts , they’ll be disruptions in our food supply, also the high costs of transporting food from other parts of the country and the world will impact us locally, so we’re really looking at how to support local agriculture.
The city’s public works department is also evaluating how to improve evacuation routes and use porous pavement to prevent storm runoff.
But Keene Public Works Director Kurt Blomquist says implementing the more than 30 goals in the city’s adaptability plan might be too expensive.
1145 2:48 it’s going to be extremely difficult and the reason I say that is right now we already have a deficit in our infrastructure spending in the country, that’s going to continue.
While the task may be daunting, city planner Mikaela Engert says they’ve now provided other cities a blueprint to follow.
“this is something that can be replicated, whether you’re a community of 1,000 people or 1.5 million, it doesn’t matter you can do this, ultimately we’re talking about protecting people property and our community”
Other U-S Cities are following Keene’s lead..Miami, Fort Collins Colorado and Homer and Fairbanks Alaska are now drafting their plans to adapt to climate change.
For NHPR news, I’m Amy Quinton.