AMHERST — Amherst, South Hadley and Holyoke are each getting more than $1 million grants from the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness program to replace culverts, improve water quality and make the communities more resilient to floods.

In Amherst, a $1.18 million grant will go toward the second phase of replacing culverts to enhance flood resiliency and water quality in the Fort River watershed, while in South Hadley $1.28 million will replace the Pearl Street and Elmer Brook culvert, and in Holyoke a $1.23 million grant will construct green infrastructure in the Day Brook watershed.

These are among 70 projects being supported by $52.8 million from the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs’ Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness program, with money going toward both climate resilience implementation and planning.

The grants were announced in Leominster last Thursday by Gov. Maura Healey, who said the money will help communities in addressing last year’s challenges from flooding and taking proactive steps to reduce future climate risks.

“These grants are more than just financial support — they are a strong statement of our commitment to resilience,” Healey said. “Our goal is to empower every community to adapt, thrive and lead in the face of climate challenges.”

Other projects being supported include the Northampton Critical Infrastructure Flood Resiliency Project, receiving a grant for $337,615, the Shutesbury Library, which will be getting $221,105 to acquire a Ford lightning battery backup for the building’s solar panels, the Bloody Brook resilience hydrologic/ hydraulic modeling in Deerfield, which is getting $170,300 and “The Future Looks like Whately: Planting Resilience through Nature-Based Solutions,” being provided $82,542.

The award for Amherst comes a year after the town got $169,250 from the same program for designing and permitting to replace three undersized, damaged culverts for flood resiliency, and rerouting a sewer for water quality.

Amherst Assistant Superintendent of Public Works Amy Rusiecki said in a statement that the program allows communities to make meaningful improvements to enhance resilience. “We are pleased to have state support to fund work on replacing culverts, which will improve the overall health of the Fort River,” Rusiecki said.

“Fort River runs through central and south Amherst and is the longest free-flowing tributary of the Connecticut River in Massachusetts. It is critical that we recognize the important role it plays in flood resiliency,” said Town Manager Paul Bockelman. “This project will improve flood resiliency, and overall stream health including natural flow, water quality and wildlife passage and habitat in three tributaries to the Fort River.”

Full construction will be done by June 30, 2026.

In Holyoke, the city will reduce stormflow volume and improve water quality for the Day Brook, which has sometimes been called “The Secret Stream,” or “La Corriente Secreta.”

Other grants went to regional agencies, with $420,223 going to the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission for the first phase of its “Toward Greater Resilience in our Drinking Water Supply: A Regional Plan for the Pioneer Valley” and $646,025 for the Franklin Council of Governments’ “Resilient Together: Building Partnerships in the Greater Connecticut River Watershed.”

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.