HARDWICK – One of the hardest lessons I’ve learned since stepping into flood recovery and resilience planning has been understanding how long mitigation projects actually take.
When I first started, I assumed many of these projects would be fairly straightforward. Identify a problem. Find funding. Hire engineers. Fix it.
I remember being on a call with partners early on and expecting immediate results. I did not yet understand how many steps exist between identifying a problem and actually putting equipment in the river.
I’ve since learned flood mitigation projects move through multiple phases, each with its own requirements, timelines and public engagement.
Most major projects begin with scoping or feasibility work. The first question is simple: will this project actually help? That stage often involves hydraulic modeling, site analysis, alternatives evaluation, conversations about trade-offs and community input.
Sometimes the answer is yes. Sometimes it is more complicated.
If a project moves forward, the next phase is engineering and conceptual design. That includes developing plans, estimating costs, refining alternatives and determining whether a project is technically and financially feasible.
After that comes environmental review, permitting, final engineering, landowner coordination, and additional funding work. Only then does construction begin.
From start to finish, a single mitigation project can easily take five years or more.
One local example is the floodplain restoration project currently underway near the confluence of the Lamoille River and Cooper Brook. The town recently received $1.2 million in implementation funding for the project. SLR International is handling the engineering work, while VHB engineering is conducting the environmental assessment required under federal regulations.
The project itself did not begin with the grant award.
The early scoping work started several years ago, through broader watershed modeling efforts funded by the Vermont Economic Development Administration. The environmental review may not be complete until early 2027. Construction is currently anticipated for spring 2028.
That timeline can feel frustrating when communities are living with the impacts now.
Hardwick currently has multiple projects moving through different stages at the same time: two critical facilities in early scoping, more than six bridges in engineering or review, and more than eight mitigation projects at various stages of planning, design, permitting or funding development.
Some of this work is beginning to become visible. Stabilization work is now underway at one project site, with construction equipment actively working in the river corridor. But many of the larger mitigation efforts are still in earlier stages that happen largely behind the scenes: engineering, permitting, environmental review, landowner coordination and funding development.
That behind-the-scenes work may not always be obvious, but it is what allows larger construction and restoration projects to eventually move forward.
Flood recovery is not a single project. It is dozens of overlapping efforts happening over many years: emergency response, property acquisition, engineering, environmental review, permitting, funding coordination and public engagement.
These projects take time, but the work happening now will shape how Hardwick responds to future floods for decades to come.
Kristen Leahy serves as the resilience and adaptation coordinator and the zoning and floodplain administrator for the Town of Hardwick.
