PRWC Secures Grant for Three Rivers Park Project - Consulting RFQ Out Now

On December 2, 2025, the Long Island Sound Partnership and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in partnership with The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), announced a 2025-round of funding for Long Island Sound Futures Fund (Futures Fund) projects. Thirty-six new grants totaling nearly $12 million were awarded. The 36 awards announced leveraged more than $8 million in matching contributions from the grantees, providing a total conservation impact of over $20 million.

Pomperaug River Watershed Coalition is among this year's award recipients with a $160,000 grant award given to support a planning phase project titled "Planning for Riparian Buffer and Supplemental BMP Strategies at Three Rivers Park in Woodbury (CT)." An additional $81,500 in matching funds are required to support the project bringing the total project cost to $241,500. The funds will be used to develop engineering plans for riparian buffer restoration and Best Management Practices to stabilize the streambanks at Three Rivers Park in Woodbury, Connecticut. The Project will facilitate site assessments and stakeholder engagement in order to deliver preliminary design plans for the permitting phase.

PRWC is working closely with the Town of Woodbury to engage the services of a qualified consultant to develop engineering and landscape design plans for Three Rivers Park. Accordingly, a Request for Qualifications was released on March 27, 2026, with a submission deadline of April 10, 2026. As of April 2, the submission deadline has been extended to April 17, 2026. Goals for the site include developing plans that integrate streambank stability, floodplain connection, and supporting mixed land uses of agriculture, athletic fields, and passive recreation within the 71.31-acre parcel that encompasses the confluence of the Nonnewaug and Weekeepeemee Rivers where the Pomperaug River begins in Woodbury, CT.

The Long Island Sound Futures Fund

Long Island Sound is the second largest estuary on the East Coast and one of North America’s most biologically diverse — an amazing fact, considering that more than 23 million people live within 50 miles of the Sound. Its watershed stretches 16,820 square miles across five states. Fresh water from 16,000 miles of river fuels the Sound’s productivity. Its waters and surrounding lands are busy and complex, playing a vital role in the environment and in the lives of residents.

The Sound faces many of the same issues that impact coastal communities across the United States. Diffuse sources of pollution, from plastics to fertilizer, drain into rivers and streams that feed into the Sound. Sewage pollution from wastewater treatment plants and aging residential septic systems force the closure of beaches and shellfish beds. The loss of wetlands reduces the Sound’s value as habitat and its ability to buffer communities against storms and floods. The Futures Fund supports efforts to address these problems by providing grants which test and proven innovative approaches to conservation, deliver transformative projects and support people and communities who value the Sound and take a direct role in its future.

The Long Island Sound Futures Fund (Futures Fund) supports efforts to test innovative approaches to conservation, deliver transformative projects, and support people and communities who value the Sound and take a direct role in its future. This shared vision for the Sound includes clean and clear waters, accessible shorelines, litter-free beaches, abundant and diverse fish and wildlife, and resilient coastal communities. In sum, an awareness and willingness to engage in actions that will sustain the Sound for generations. Launched in 2005, the Futures Fund has invested $80 million in 688 projects. This has been leveraged by $87 million in matching contributions from grantees for a total conservation impact of $167 million. The projects have reduced 130,000 pounds of nitrogen from entering the Sound, restored 887 acres of fish and wildlife habitat, treated 217.2 million gallons of stormwater pollution and engaged over five million people in protecting the Sound. The Futures Fund is delivered by a partnership — government, business, nonprofit, foundation and university — working together to restore the Sound. Managed by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, partners include the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Long Island Sound Partnership, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Long Island Sound Funders Collaborative. Additional funding has been provided by Zoetis Foundation.

FUTURES FUND GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

A road map guiding the Futures Fund is the Long Island Sound Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan. This plan includes four goals:

1. Clean Waters and Healthy Watersheds: Improving water quality by reducing pollution from the waters that flow into and the land which surrounds the Sound.

2. Thriving Habitats and Abundant Wildlife: Restoring coastal habitats and fostering abundant populations of fish, birds and wildlife.

3. Sustainable and Resilient Communities: Supporting vibrant, informed, and engaged communities that use, appreciate, and help protect and sustain the Sound; and enhancing its natural and community resilience.

4. Informed and Engaged Public: Inspire and empower the public to appreciate, value, and protect Long Island Sound and the waters that flow into the Sound.