The Town of Altona is embarking on a project it says will further push it towards climate resiliency.
Council will use a $15,000 grant, under the province's Climate Action Plan, to create a climate risk assessment and adaptation plan for the community.
The work will be divided in two phases.
Phase 1, explained Mayor Harv Schroeder, is the assessment. It will establish context, identify risks, assess, compare and rank those risks and then identify risk mitigation and adaptation measures
Phase 2 will focus on developing the Climate Change Adaptation Plan, using the results of Phase 1. Adaptation goals will help identify and prioritize actions based on urgency, feasibility, and potential impact. This, noted Schroeder, may include infrastructure adaptation measures, ecosystem-based adaptation measures or capacity building and education.
According to the Mayor, these kinds of assessments and plans are becoming increasingly mandatory when communities apply for government funding to help with various projects.
"When we built 2nd Street Northeast, we had to have a climate resilience plan to get funding," he said. "So, that's why we're moving ahead - to take care of other projects we have moving ahead related to infrastructure."
The project is set to start in June and wrap up next March and will be done by Green Sky Sustainability Consulting. Total cost is expected to ring in at just over $56,000.