The second phase of restoration on one of Long Island Sound's most significant fish and wildlife habitats is set to begin by the end of this month in the City of Rye.
Contractors will break ground on the restoration and creation of costal habitats, including a tidal creek and wetlands in and along the southern shore of Manursing Lake, part of the Edith G. Read Natural Park and Wildlife Sanctuary and Playland Park. The restoration project is expected to be completed by the end of June and will improve water quality and biodiversity in both the lake and the Long Island Sound.
"The county was able to use grant funding to improve this valuable ecosystem and recreational treasure on Long Island Sound for both phases of the project," said County Executive Robert P. Astorino.
The restoration of Manursing Lake is one of more than 30 projects completed by the county in the drainage areas of Long Island Sound, part of an ongoing effort to improve water quality by controlling stormwater pollution. The county has restored ponds, streams and wetlands and installed structures to treat the stormwater runoff that can pollute waters and contribute to flooding.
Once a complex of tidal wetlands and creeks, the Rye area was dredged in the 1920s to create a lake to be an attraction at the county-owned Playland Amusement Park. The man-made Manursing Lake covers approximately 80 acres with depths of up to 30 feet. The tidal lake and its surroundings are designated as a Significant Coastal Fish and Wildlife Habitat by the New York Department of State.
The first phase at Manursing Lake, the installation of a new tide gate, was completed in October. The gate now allows the county to regulate the daily ebbs and flows of the tide throughout the lake and created the conditions which set the stage for the upcoming restoration work.
"This new restoration work will build upon the project's first phase, which replaced a manually operated tide gate with a new automatically operated gate, improving the lake's tidal flow, enhancing its ecological value and better connecting the lake to the Sound," said Acting Planning Commissioner Edward Buroughs, whose department obtained the grants.
When the second phase, which also includes restoring and creating meadows around the lake and stabilizing eroding shoreline, is completed, the area can be used for educational purposes by naturalists at the Read Sanctuary's nature center, operated by the county Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation.
County funds were leveraged – for both phases of the project – with a $400,000 grant from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and a $190,000 grant from the Long Island Sound Futures Fund administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The county matched these grants with $500,000. Funds totaling $300,000 were also contributed – the result of a 2008 DEC consent order requiring funds to be used on projects which benefit the environment.
The lake has also been targeted as an ecological and recreational priority of the Long Island Sound Study Stewardship Initiative – spearheaded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the states of New York and Connecticut.