WORCESTER, Mass. - In Worcester, a $1.6 million study will collect data in areas where flooding often occurs to identify possible infrastructure improvements. 

In recent years, flooding events have submerged vehicles, closed down streets and spilled over into homes and businesses. John Odell, the city's chief sustainability officer, said the work will be an important step toward increasing Worcester's climate resilience. 

“We are taking into account the current and future effects of climate change," Odell said. "We recognize that some of the existing infrastructure, a lot of it that is 50 years old, needs to be looked at in a very thoughtful way so that we can make sure it will withstand future large rain events."

Odell said in order to get the most up-to-date infrastructure plans in place, it’s important to have data that supports them. Year one of the project will be spent on the ground in problem areas like Green Island and Crompton Park to learn exactly how much water each catch basin, manhole and outfall can take before it reaches crisis point. 

“We will basically be using that data set to create models for what would happen if we had a major rain event that lasted 24 hours, or a really intense rain event that lasted over an hour but dumped four or five inches of rain," Odell said. "We’re looking at those different scenarios so we can look at what the best solution is, using both gray and green infrastructure.”

Securing $1.6 million for a study like this hasn’t always been easy. Just last year, Odell’s department applied for the same funding, but didn’t get approved.

"This year it did, and especially as we’re learning more about climate change, we’re seeing more of the potential problems of our infrastructure in dealing with its effects," Odell said. "Not just stormwater runoff and rain events, but for droughts."

Odell said state funding will cover 75% of the project's cost. Water and sewer rate payers will cover the remaining 25%.