![]() With Topaz Drive being owned and managed by Emerald Acres and neighboring Sterling Realty Apartments, a bridge replacement comes with a hefty price tag. Because while the crossing received some quick emergency repairs, it had not been re-engineered to properly address the flooding and passage issues. The year following the washout, a watershed-wide culvert assessment for the Oyster River identified the Topaz Drive crossing as the highest priority to restore fish passage in the watershed. It’s like a constant fear that never really goes away.” It was quite stressful and every time there's been any chance of flooding since then, my first thought is always on the bridge and if it will wash out again. “We were lucky to have only been an 'island' for a week or less, but it was challenging to manage lives and help neighbors-some who were stranded inside the park if they didn't get out before the road washed out. “The flood and subsequent road washout were our first real challenges as a newly established cooperative,” remembers Lori. With the increasing volumes and intensity of rainfall that New Hampshire’s changing climate is experiencing, the vulnerability of undersized and aging infrastructure like the Topaz Drive culvert is a common theme across the state.ĭuring the Patriot’s Day floods in 2007, the road-stream crossing at Topaz Drive completely washed out, isolating the residents of Emerald Acres for several days and cutting them off from emergency services. It also means that the road is prone to flooding during severe storm events-something that has happened to varying degrees over the years, making it dangerous for residents and, at times, completely cutting off the community. The river passes under the road through a metal culvert which is both undersized and perched, preventing fish passage while also restricting the natural flow of the Oyster River. The cooperative is located just off Route 4, which it is linked to via Topaz Drive, a private road spanning the Oyster River that serves as the only access into and out of the community. “It changes over time with a nice mix of older folks winding down in their later years to new, young folks just starting their lives.” ![]() “For the most part, the community is quiet,” notes Lori Wingate, who has lived here for 26 years and currently serves as Treasurer for the resident-owned cooperative. But there is hope-and it calls for us to work with nature to prepare our state for a changing climate.Īdaptation at Work: A Community Solves for Floods and FishĮmerald Acres Cooperative has always been a tight-knit community, its 100 modest homes nestled together in the southeast corner of Barrington. If we don’t act now the New Hampshire we love will look and feel utterly different to the next generation. And our forest landscape will change, as trees and plants are wiped out by invasive pests or replaced by warmer-weather species. ![]() Our fish and other aquatic species will pay the price too. ![]() Outdated, undersized, obsolete infrastructure like some road-stream crossings will increasingly endanger communities during more frequent extreme weather and floods. Relief from extreme heat in our cities and landscapes will be harder to find. Some of our wildlife will vanish, too, fleeing northward in search of safe habitat, while southern species will seek refuge in New Hampshire. Skiing and pond skating, maple syrup making and snow-covered woods-our New Hampshire winters are at risk. If heat-trapping emissions continue at the current rate, the Granite State is on track to feel more like South Carolina by 2050. How Climate Change Is Impacting New Hampshire
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