Groton ― The town is starting an initiative designed to equip businesses in Mystic and Groton with simple, low-cost ideas they can use to prepare for flooding.

This summer, Amealia Maynard, the town’s sustainability intern and a recent graduate of the University of Connecticut, is creating a flood preparedness strategy for local businesses under the guidance of the town’s planning department.

Maynard said the project is focused on helping businesses prepare for future flooding and lower the potential cost of damage, as climate change makes flooding worse with sea level rise and storm surge.

She developed a toolkit that businesses can use to to help reduce flood vulnerability.

Maynard said she hopes the project will raise awareness in the business community about flooding and the impacts of climate change, as well as the community support and resources available to help businesses.

“It’s really important to the town that we help local businesses because they’re really integral to the economy and culture of the town,” Maynard said.

A disaster checklist will outline steps businesses can take to plan for floods, including obtaining flood insurance ahead of time, getting sandbags and making sure there is a working generator before a flood, as well as backing up important documents online or keeping them in a waterproof container.

Megan Granato, the town’s sustainability and resilience manager, said that with so much information out there and business owners so busy, Maynard is distilling information so they can quickly and easily access it.

The town also will reach out to businesses to hear about their experiences and how the town can help them prepare for flooding, starting with going door-to-door on Thursday to talk to Mystic businesses.

Maynard said that while the town is starting in Mystic, the work will continue in other parts of town at risk of flooding.

Maynard, who is working on the project in her role as a University of New Hampshire Sustainability Fellow, said she also will develop a climate engagement strategy that the town can build on after this summer to continue to help businesses with flood vulnerability.

Granato said the idea for the initiative was sparked by conversations with the business community when the town was developing the Downtown Mystic Resiliency and Sustainability Plan.

She said the downtown Mystic study showed that flooding is going to worsen, both in terms of the area that’s anticipated to flood and the depth of the flood water, as a result of climate change and sea level rise. There are some businesses that previously haven’t flooded, but unfortunately that might change in the future, she said.

Referencing federal projections that hurricane season is being forecast to be more active than usual, Granato said it’s timely to continue to raise awareness.

“In the last five years the number of flood events in Mystic has increased significantly,” said Bruce Flax, president of the Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce. “Business owners in Mystic are concerned with the rising tide.”

He said the work Maynard has done for the Flood Preparedness Toolkit will make the education and use of the tools for business owners easier, should a flood arrive.

More information about the project and the toolkit can be found at: https://www.greatergroton.com/stay-afloat.

k.drelich@theday.com