Several towns and cities in Connecticut are set to receive money as part of a $5.1 million climate resilience fund aimed at protecting homes and businesses from severe weather events, according to state officials.

The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has announced the award recipients of its climate resilience fund, which was created in 2021 to better protect communities from increasing climate hazards. The fund supports projects with grants for planning, design and matching funds for construction projects in towns and cities.

For this second round of award winners, DEEP officials said they received 52 applications requesting $39.5 million in funding for projects. The fund distributed its first awards in 2023, with $8.8 million going toward 17 municipalities’ climate resilience plans and projects.

“As Connecticut faces another summer of potentially historic extreme weather, the importance of investing in proactive resilience measures is clearer than ever,” DEEP commissioner Katie Dykes said.

“DEEP announced the first awards from the DEEP Climate Resilience Fund in 2023 to provide funding for communities to create project pipelines for resilience. With this next round of funding under an expanded program, we are excited to meet communities where they are, to help them identify their risks, and design and develop successfully projects that can mitigate those risks. We are particularly pleased to see funding in this round for construction projects that will build resilience across Connecticut,” Dykes added.

According to officials, the funding is going toward town resilience plans, engineering designs, nature-based flood control infrastructure, energy infrastructure to prevent power outages and resilience and energy hubs.

Several municipalities receiving matching funds are also applying to funding programs from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Officials said the funds are distributed through the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, a critical source of climate resilience funding for Connecticut.

“DESPP is looking forward to continuing our partnership with DEEP to help communities take full advantage of FEMA funds to protect the state against natural disasters,” DESPP commissioner Ronnell Higgins said. “Helping towns access FEMA funds is especially important in today’s federal funding landscape, and these grants from the DCRF will remove a common barrier for FEMA grants and other federal funds by providing non-federal match.”

Through the fund, this round is awarding $5.1 million to 14 municipalities including regional entities and non-profits, according to DEEP.

Award winners and projects include:

The Connecticut Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security is set to receive $375,000. DEMHS is seeking federal funding for a precipitation monitoring network that will inform local flood models and increase flash flood warning time, reducing damage from floods and flood-related deaths and injuries, according to officials.
Groton: $250,000. Groton will conduct a feasibility study for creating an energy resilience hub and “Cooler Neighborhood”, looking at opportunities involving the Groton Community Center and town-owned sites such as the library, senior center, and transit stops.
New Haven Parks Department: $250,000. The New Haven Parks Department will conduct a resilience action plan for Edgewood Park and surrounding neighborhoods, including the vulnerable Westville neighborhood, that will take full advantage of the park’s potential as natural infrastructure.
Jewett City: $237,044. Jewett City and the Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments  will advance planning for a flood control project in Jewett City that will build on Resilient Connecticut Phase III designs for the South Main Street Neighborhood, including open space design for stormwater storage.
South Central Regional Council of Governments: $250,000. SCRCOG will develop a framework that will allow municipalities to translate identified climate risks into implementable, equitable, and sustainable investment strategies, including an effort to map priority areas where flooding, extreme heat and infrastructure vulnerability can be most effectively mitigated.
Western Connecticut Council of Governments: $246,457. WestCOG will conduct a feasibility study of recurring finance mechanisms for resilience, including stormwater utilities and resilience improvement districts, regionally and for municipalities in the WestCOG region.
Norwich Public Utilities: $525,000. Norwich Public Utilities will finalize engineering plans and prepare bid documents to relocate the Shipping Street Pump Station out of the Thames River floodplain, addressing key components of Norwich’s Combined Sewer Overflow Long Term Control Plan.
Waterbury: $644,456. The city of Waterbury will finalize engineering design and permitting of riverine and storm drainage system improvements to protect the community in the Clough Brook watershed, implementing a comprehensive strategy for flood control that includes culvert upsizing and hybrid nature-based solutions.
Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments: $291,200. SECOG will finalize engineering designs to remove the Upper Falls Dam in Norwich to improve flood resilience, alleviate dam-related risks, and improve access to critical community lifelines.
Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments: $650,000. NVCOG will finalize engineering designs for sites across the Naugatuck Valley that will address the most urgent flood control needs in the region, including protecting an emergency services center in Oxford, critical transportation routes in Seymour and seven other municipal, residential and commercial sites.
North Hartford Partnership: $337,197. North Hartford Partnership will finalize design and permitting for a campus-scale community and energy resilience hub at the historic Swift Factory in Hartford’s North End, a state-designated Resilience Opportunity Area.
Windham Water Works: $415,000. Windham Water Works will finalize design and seek funding for climate-informed improvements to the Willimantic Dam, including flood-proofing the water intake and pump station, to protect the water supply of a rural community.
Wolcott: $139,375. Wolcott will seek federal funding to implement hybrid nature-based solutions to address residential and road flooding near the Ransome Hall Road, building on NVCOG’s Regional Flood Resilience project.
Wethersfield: $553,093. Wethersfield will finalize designs and apply for federal funds to begin construction on grey and green approaches to prevent recurring flooding that is impacting a stretch of the Silas Deane Highway and nearby communities.

The DEEP Climate Resilience Fund is open to municipal governments, local public utilities, non-profit organizations, state and federally recognized tribal nations and other entities, according to the agency. Additional details on eligibility, funding categories, program priorities, and how to apply can be found at portal.ct.gov/connecticutclimateaction.

An earlier version of this story inaccurately reported Brenda Bergeron as the deputy commissioner of the Department of Emergency Services and Homeland Protection’s Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security. Bergeron, who was appointed to the role in 2021, retired from her position in December.

Stephen Underwood can be reached at sunderwood@courant.com.