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News Advisory
RI Department of Environmental Management
235 Promenade Street, Providence, RI 02908
(401) 222-2771 TDD/(401) 222-4462
FOR AP AND METRO NEWS DAYBOOKS:
Photo Opportunity
Date: Friday, September 21, 2007

Time:

 Plug to be excavated from 7- 8 a.m.; Water to start flowing into area at approximately 9 a.m.
Location: Town Pond Environmental Restoration Project
End of Anthony Street in Portsmouth*
Event: Plug to be removed and first incoming tide in 57 Years will fill Town Pond Restoration Project

For Release:

 September 19, 2007
Contact: Gail Mastrati 222-4700 ext. 2402
Stephanie Powell 222-4700 ext. 4418

DEM, US ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS AND PROJECT PARTNERS TO VIEW ONGOING WORK AT TOWN POND SALT POND RESTORATION PROJECT IN PORTSMOUTH
First Incoming Tide in Over 50 Years to Fill Basin of Dredged Salt Pond As Last Plug of Soil Blocking Mt. Hope Bay is Removed from Channel Early Friday Morning

PROVIDENCE: The Department of Environmental Management and the US Army Corps of Engineers, New England District, will excavate the last plug of soil blocking Mount Hope Bay from the Town Pond salt marsh restoration project in Portsmouth on Friday, September 21. When the 50-foot plug is removed from the mouth of the channel, tidal water will flow into the basin of the near-completed salt pond restoration project for the first time in 57 years. The tidal flow will begin during low tide, somewhere around 8:50 a.m., and it will take several hours for the water to flood the pond.

Flooding of the salt pond is part of the ongoing work being performed at Town Pond, and is a benchmark in the construction of the project. Completion of the restoration project is expected this winter.

The $4.6 million restoration project is a joint effort between DEM, the Corps, and numerous state, local and non-governmental agencies to help restore 23 acres of salt pond and salt marsh habitat in the wildlife sanctuary at Town Pond. The restored salt pond will provide habitat for coastal fish and wildlife, such as shellfish, flounder and other finfish, herons, egrets, and waterfowl, restoring the productivity and ecological value of the area.

Located next to Mount Hope Bay, Town Pond was a tidally influenced salt pond and salt marsh prior to a Corps navigation improvement project placing dredged material in this area in the early 1950s. At the time, the low-lying pond was considered a good place to dispose of dredged material. Filling the pond with dredged material increased its elevation above that of regular tidal flooding, and turned it into a lower value, non-tidal habitat dominated by the reed species Phragmites australis.

The restored pond will resemble the historic condition at Town Pond in the 1930s. About 125,000 cubic yards of dredged material has been excavated to elevations that will support about half salt marsh and half mudflat and salt pond. There will be approximately 2.5 acres of high marsh, 8.9 acres of low marsh, 3.2 acres of mudflats, and 8.2 acres of permanent open water. Approximately 18 acres of Phragmites reed, which is above the elevation of tidal influence, was removed to restore salt marsh and salt pond estuarine habitats. Once the new elevations are established and are flooded by frequent tides, estuarine habitats and vegetation communities will establish.

A berm was constructed to separate Founder's Brook, which runs along the west side of the site, from the restored salt pond. A new 42-inch diameter culvert with a flap gate has replaced the antiquated culvert at the end of the brook, located southwest of the railroad bridge. A concrete weir 36 feet long was installed to regulate a permanent pool where the entrance channel meets the interior marsh. The channel connecting Town Pond to Mount Hope Bay has been partially relocated.

Excavated material not used to construct the berm was placed on a site on the east side of the marsh extending from the edge of the access road across to the edge of the Montaup Country Club. This area will be planted with coastal grasses.

In addition to DEM and the Corps, project partners include the US Environmental Protection Agency, RI Coastal Resources Management Council, Roger Williams University, Aquidneck Land Trust, RI Department of Transportation, RI Corporate Wetlands Restoration Partnership, Ducks Unlimited, Town of Portsmouth, and the Narragansett Bay Estuary Program. The RI Corporate Wetlands Restoration Partnership, through the generosity of Arch Chemicals and Metals Recycling, LLC, contributed $15,000 toward the project. National Grid also donated their services for installation of the Osprey Nest platforms.

A power point presentation on the Town Pond Restoration Project is available on the Narragansett Bay Estuary Program's website, www.nbep.org.

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*Directions from Providence: Follow Rt. 195-East for 13 miles. At exit 8A, turn onto Route 24 South. Stay on Route 24 South for four miles and turn right at Exit 3 toward Anthony Road/Common Fence Point/Island Park. Turn left onto Anthony Road and the site will be on the right across from the DOT maintenance facility. Park in the staging area and walk north along the utility road to reach the restoration area. Walking shoes or boots are recommended.
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rev. 9/20/07