The Ipswich River Watershed Association (IRWA), through the PIE-Rivers partnership, is excited to announce that it has received an additional $1.3M in funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). These project funds will further the work of IRWA and their project partners to update man-made barriers such as culverts and road crossings to improve stream flow, reduce climate risk, and restore 104 acres of salt marsh.
These funds are part of the $265M of federal grant funding NOAA has dedicated to habitat restoration and coastal resilience projects. With these funds, plus $3.4M in project funding previously awarded to remove or rehabilitate 5 dams, IRWA and their project partners are able to accelerate the pace of implementation for long-planned, critical restoration projects in the Parker, Ipswich, and Essex River Watersheds.
Restoration projects funded by this grant include: the Old Essex Road stream crossing in Ipswich and Essex, the Orchard Street bridge project in Newbury, and the Old Hay Street restriction in Newbury. This grant will also provide funding to generate designs and budgets for up to 21 high priority hydro-barriers identified in the region to get these sites to the shovel-ready stage.
Project partners include: Town of Ipswich, owner of Old Essex Road; Town of Newbury owner of the Orchard Street bridge; the Trustees of Reservations, owner of the Old Hay Street Restriction.
This grant will also provide funding to increase the capacity of the PIE-Rivers Partnership – the first cross-watershed collaborative in Massachusetts. PIE-Rivers was formed to increase the resiliency of our watersheds and our communities through communication, coordination and collaboration between those involved in watershed restoration, preservation and management. The partnership consists of representatives of municipalities (any municipality that has land within the region or sources water from the watersheds), state and federal agencies, academic institutions, nonprofits and interested residents.
These projects provide social and economic benefits as well, including: Reducing flood risk upstream of the barriers; Enhancing historically important commercial and recreational fisheries; Enhancing recreation opportunities; Increase community and ecological resilience.
“Expanding the capacity of the PIE-Rivers partnership means we can dedicate more resources to coordinating regional restoration efforts and pursuing future grant opportunities. We are looking forward to engaging all of our partners, including towns across the region, in this important work,” says PIE-Rivers coordinator, Erin Bonney Casey.
“Upgrading the Orchard St culvert is critical to reducing flooding risk along this stretch of road. Receiving this funding allows the town of Newbury to move forward with this long-planned construction project,” says James Sarette, Public Works Director for the Town of Newbury.
“As a non-profit organization, access to funding is one of the key barriers to implementing restoration projects, like removal of the Old Hay street barrier. The PIE-Rivers partnerships offers a means for local North Shore organizations to access the extensive federal funding being made available for restoration projects,” according to Russ Hopping Lead Ecologist, Coastal Ecology for the Trustees of Reservations.
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