#climatechangeadaptation — Public Fediverse posts on home.social

DoomsdaysCW @[email protected] · 2026-07-26 · 19:53 UTC

Research - #RainBarrels and Other Household Stormwater Strategies Are Working — For Now.

May 5, 2026

Excerpt: " 'When we talk about #CircularEconomy, most people think about #recycling waste and materials. But the concept of circular economy also applies to water. Here we're talking about installing #rainwater #cisterns, reusing water from the sink to flush toilets and using water-efficient appliances. While those may seem like small steps at the individual level, we found that if they are widely adopted, they can have a significant collective impact,' said Fernanda Cruz Rios, PhD, an assistant professor in the College of Engineering, who was a co-author of the research. 'They help reduce demand on the municipal supply, and the energy needed to treat and distribute that water. But what we found was that these strategies offer a real double benefit. In areas like #PhiladelphiaPA and #CamdenME, that are particularly vulnerable due to their proximity to large bodies of water, we were able to see a meaningful reduction in flooding volumes when circular water strategies were adopted.'

"Despite the ongoing compliance efforts, the cities of Philadelphia and Camden have around 16 billion gallons of combined #sewer overflow, according to reports from their respective water utilities.

"Over the last two and a half decades, Camden has established a stormwater management plan, including decentralized strategies, an upgrade to #stormwater infrastructure and storm water management modeling. To understand the overall impact of these efforts, in hopes of applying findings to other vulnerable urban areas, the Drexel team created a computer model of stormwater movement using data from Cramer Hill, a neighborhood of Camden in the state’s 'coastal hazard zone' that is highly susceptible to tidal and storm-surge flooding.

"The researchers structured the model so that it could quantify the distinct effects of outdoor strategies (cisterns and rain barrels) and indoor strategies — efficient fixtures and reusing sink wash water (#greywater) for toilet flushing. It simulated and measured the effect of 16 different combinations of strategies, ranging from rain barrels of different sizes, to varying levels of adoption of water-efficient fixtures and greywater reuse.

"Each scenario was simulated using precipitation and tidal data from 2014 as a baseline and flooding measurements projected at locations across the neighborhood and at five stormwater outfall areas that contribute to combined sewer overflow discharges into the #DelawareRiver.

The results show that the combination of retrofitting homes with #WaterEfficientFixtures as well as installing rain barrels and practicing greywater reuse, when adopted by 75% of households, could reduce the volume of combined sewer overflows by as much as 11% and the volume of #floodwaters by up to 13%.

" 'This finding is an important and encouraging piece of information for municipalities that are facing similar challenges,' Marques said. 'Although broad adoption of these measures can be challenging to achieve, confirmation of its effectiveness may help to make the case.' "

#SolarPunkSunday #ClimateChangeAdaptation #Graywater #StormwaterSeparation #StormwaterReduction #WaterCisterns #UrbanPlanning #WaterUse #WaterIsLife #ClimateChange

#rainbarrels #circulareconomy #recycling #rainwater #cisterns #philadelphiapa

DoomsdaysCW @[email protected] · 2025-09-28 · 03:15 UTC

Invasive #GreenCrabs: Implications & How to Utilize Them

by Mary Parks, June 15, 2023

"Green crabs were first spotted in Casco Bay in the early 1900s after moving northward from Massachusetts waters where they were introduced a century before. In recent years, green crabs have become Maine’s most common crab species, wreaking havoc on some of the state’s most valuable fisheries and vulnerable ecosystems. Cold winters that historically kept green crab populations in check are no longer common and as #ClimateChange continues to warm the #GulfOfMaine, green crab populations could increase. This invasive species has singlehandedly destroyed the soft-shell clam fishery (a single green crab can eat up to 40 clams in a day), compete with local crabs and lobster for food, and destroy important eelgrass habitats.

"Many have launched diversified efforts to monitor green crabs, control their populations, prevent predation of clams, and spread awareness of their invasive impact.

"Wolfe’s Neck Center has been utilizing green crabs as #compost for years, collecting them from coastal waters to utilize as a nutrient source and educating visitors on the impact of green crabs. Last year alone, Wolfe’s Neck Center’s farm team composted 12,000 pounds (about twice the weight of an elephant) of green crabs.

"In this post, we will go over a basic recipe for cooking with green crabs and tips for using the remaining shells as compost in your garden, so you can be part of the solution at home!"

Learn more:
https://www.wolfesneck.org/green-crabs-an-invasive-species/

#SolarPunkSunday #Composting #GreenCrabRecipes #invasivespecies #ClimateChangeAdaptation #WolfesNeck #Maine

#greencrabs #climatechange #gulfofmaine #compost #solarpunksunday #composting

DoomsdaysCW @[email protected] · 2025-09-14 · 02:09 UTC

As #NewHampshire summers grow drier, farmers evolve to cope

by Molly Rains, September 8, 2025 at 5:00 AM EDT

Excerpt: "Some more analog farming techniques are also crucial for drought resilience, Mathur said. A foundational element of soil health is related to how much organic material it contains, a measure boosted by additives like #compost, #manure, or #CoverCrops. In addition to adding nutrients to the soil, these materials also cling to water, helping keep soil damp and cool in times of limited rainfall, she said.

"Once organic materials are present in the soil, they can be retained for longer with methods like #NoTill farming or #ReducedTill farming, in which farmers refrain as much as possible from plowing their fields. Chewing up a field before planting a crop adds air to the soil, fueling the decomposition of the important organic matter within, Delisle said. While no-till and reduced-till farming isn’t a good fit for every crop, he added, many New Hampshire farmers have had success using the method with the common local crops of corn and pumpkins.

"Preserving the organic matter in New Hampshire’s soil is important not only in times of drought but also, Delisle said, in times of heavy rain and flooding, when farm equipment can compress fields. This compacts the soil and makes it less hospitable to plants.

" 'Soils with higher organic matter in them have the capacity to spring back once they’re pressed down, and that’s an important factor in the resiliency of that soil,' Delisle said."

Learn more:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/hampshire-summers-grow-drier-farmers-090040658.html

#SolarPunkSunday
#ClimateChangeAgriculture
#ClimateChange #Composting #ClimateChangeAdaptation #Resiliency