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RESTORATION INITIATIVES


PRWC protects and restores instream habitats and streambanks along multiple stretches of river prioritized based on scientific data.

Demonstration Rain Garden Reduces Runoff

 

Over the course of four extremely hot and humid days, our 2018 Youth Conservation Corps dug and shaped the 1000 square foot bed of the garden and planted it with 350 native plants. Placed in a highly visible location along a busy state road, the Community House Park garden and interpretive signage serves as a demonstration site for all to visit and to learn about the functions and benefits of rain gardens.

This particular rain garden has the ability to capture approximately 7500 gallons of stormwater in a 1-inch rainstorm (390,000 gallons/year). By giving this water a place to infiltrate into the soil, the rain garden also reduces the load of nitrogen and phosphorus entering the stream respectively by 2.2 lbs/year and 0.4 lbs/year.  ​

Funding for the project was made possible through a Watershed Assistance Small Grants Program grant administered by Rivers Alliance of Connecticut. Generous in-kind support was provided by the Town of Southbury and Earth Tones Native Plant Nursery and Landscaping. Volunteers are recruited on a regular basis to help with weeding, watering, and mulching.

 

Riparian Buffer Restoration

 

In 2013, Pomperaug River Watershed Coalition’s Stream Committee identified Cedarland Park as an ideal location for creating a model riparian buffer. The overall project focused on invasive plant removal and replanting the river and stream banks with native vegetation. These vegetated buffers serve to absorb and slow the flow of rising water during flood conditions, reduce stream bank erosion, provide shade for the river, and provide food and habitat for wildlife. After much hard work and dedication on the parts of PRWC, community partners and volunteers, the main project was completed in Summer 2016.

In-Stream Habitat Restoration

 

A half-mile stretch of the Pomperaug River that flows through the Audubon at the Bent of the River (BOTR) in Southbury was the site of a highly successful project to restore in-stream habitat.    Decades ago this stretch of the River was channelized causing significant changes to the natural flow which greatly reduced habitat diversity.   The recent improvements introduced large woody debris to the stream environment in effort to recreate that pools, riffles and glides that once characterized the area.
 

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