2024 started with a pair of major January storms, which brought heavy rain and winds to communities across the South Coast, including Westport and East Beach Road. Credit: Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management South Coast leaders cleaned up pollution and prepared for future natural disasters in 2024, amid a wetter, wilder, and weirder local climate. The year started with major storms that caused roadway flooding and property damage across the region. After a wet spring and summer, it ended with the South Coast under critical drought conditions. The drought has persisted for more than a month and is stressing local farmers and water supplies. 2024 in Review Local officials are working to help their communities adapt to intensifying coastal weather patterns. They’re developing hazard mitigation plans and infrastructure projects. Conservation groups have also been bolstering regional climate resilience by restoring wetlands and grasslands. Meanwhile, the Buzzards Bay Coalition and local oyster growers have been pushing New Bedford to address its combined sewer overflows, and reduce bacteria pollution entering local waters. Fairhaven, Dartmouth, Westport, and Wareham are working on sewer projects to reduce nitrogen loads going into Buzzards Bay. These efforts are helping to protect South Coast communities and their natural resources into the future, local leaders say. But projects like these take time, and can be expensive. These are the top South Coast environmental stories of 2024. Storms kick off 2024, nudging towns to plan for floods 2024 started with a pair of major January storms, which brought heavy rain and winds to communities across the South Coast. Coastal waters flood roads and yards near Swift Beach in Wareham in a mid-January storm. Credit: Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management Officials from Westport to Wareham reported property damage and roadway flooding. The storms also prompted regional leaders to […]