Worcester has received $900,000 in state funding to complete a four-year effort to better understand where the city is most vulnerable to flooding—and where future investments could do the most to reduce the risk.
The grant, awarded through the state’s Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness program, funds the final phase of Worcester’s citywide flood resilience initiative. The work includes completing an Integrated Flood Model, developing designs for a nature-based flood reduction project and continuing stormwater education in city schools.
Once completed, the model is expected to give city officials a more detailed picture of flooding risks under current conditions and future climate scenarios, including potential effects on critical infrastructure, community assets and neighborhoods designated as Environmental Justice communities.
“We’re excited to receive this funding to complete a four-year effort to better prepare Worcester for increased urban flooding due to climate change,” Chief Sustainability Officer John Odell said in the city’s announcement. “Once complete, the flood model will let us make evidence-driven decisions about development and about where to invest in green and gray infrastructure improvements citywide.”
The latest grant builds on work Worcester began in 2023.
An earlier Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness grant funded the city’s Stormwater & Green Infrastructure Master Plan, which assessed flood risks and evaluated both green and traditional infrastructure approaches to reducing flooding.
A second grant, covering work in 2025 and 2026, advanced development of the Integrated Flood Model. That project combined and expanded existing models of Worcester’s stormwater and drainage systems, combined sewers and waterways into a single framework. The work also included collecting additional information through stormwater and stream monitoring.
The $900,000 award allows the city to calibrate and validate that model, fill remaining gaps in drainage data and incorporate monitoring results and historical flooding information.
The city will then use the model to assess how flooding could affect Worcester under a range of future climate conditions.
The grant will also pay for design work on a priority nature-based project intended to reduce flooding. The city did not identify the location or scope of that project in its announcement.
Another portion of the funding will continue a stormwater education program introduced last year at four Worcester elementary schools.
The project is a collaboration between the city’s Department of Sustainability and Resilience and Department of Public Works. Work is expected to begin this fall and conclude in June 2027.
Worcester was among 38 projects statewide selected for the latest round of Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness action grants.
Created in 2017, the state program provides communities with funding to identify climate-related hazards and plan and carry out projects intended to make them more resilient. According to the city’s announcement, 349 of Massachusetts’ 351 municipalities participate in the program, which has awarded more than $248 million for local climate resilience planning and projects since its inception.
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