When it comes to studying the effects flooding could have in Damariscotta, the town recently received some help from the state level.

Make that $20,000 worth of help.

There were six projects across the state that received grants totaling more than $150,000 from the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry's (DACF) Municipal Planning Assistance Program.

Damariscotta’s grant will be used to further explore the results from an earlier study of the effects rising sea levels on the downtown. The town, Lincoln County and the Lincoln County Regional Planning Commission completed the original study.

In addition, the money will mostly be directed toward an engineering consultant to make evaluations on the downtown area. Damariscotta had to front $5,000 for the grant, which will bring the total amount to $25,000.

Damariscotta was highlighted as one of the most at-risk communities in Lincoln County for potential flooding in the 2013 Coastal Hazards-Sea Level Rise study.

The fears of rising waters, coupled with more intense storm surges have caused the municipal parking lot to become a hot topic in Damariscotta. Recently, business owners and residents spoke about the options for improving and protecting the lot, which borders Main Street.

But it wasn't just Damariscotta that received a grant in Lincoln County; Bristol was awarded more than $14,250 for citizen science and engineering to plan the restoration of Pemaquid River Alewife in partnership with the Bristol Fish Committee, the Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment, the Department of Marine Resources and the NOAA Restoration Center.

The alewife project aims to reestablish access for the fish through the Bristol Mills Dam fishway and into the Pemaquid River chain of lakes. The money will be used to fund engineering designs and permitting for improvements in the fishway.

“The Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry is a partner with many communities in their local mitigation efforts,” said Commissioner Walt Whitcomb in a press release. “Our Maine Coastal Program Grants help communities address natural resource concerns including habitat restoration, storm surge, and, in the case of the Brunswick project, the threat invasive green crabs pose to commercial fisheries.”