SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine –The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s (NFWF) National Coastal Resilience Fund has awarded the City of South Portland a $272K grant to enhance Trout Brook's environmental infrastructure. The funding will support engineering designs for five key culvert upgrades implementing "Stream Smart" crossings. These innovative structures will enable natural flow of sediment, debris, and fish during extreme weather events while preventing structural damage and local flooding. Most significantly, this upgrade will help restore Trout Brook to a more natural waterway, moving away from its current function as an urban drainage system.
The grant will also fund designs for strategic green infrastructure installations throughout the watershed, implementing stormwater treatment systems to filter polluted runoff before it reaches Trout Brook. Additionally, the funding supports the development of a restoration plan for Sawyer Marsh, addressing legacy impacts from agricultural ditching operations conducted before the 1940s.
These initiatives align with the City's 2012 Trout Brook Watershed Management Plan (WMP), developed in partnership with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and various local stakeholders. The WMP serves as a comprehensive restoration guide, outlining strategies to counter development-related impacts that currently prevent Trout Brook from meeting water quality standards.
The project's primary objective is to establish a thriving aquatic ecosystem that supports fish and wildlife, while enhancing the community's connection to nature through improved watershed accessibility and environmental quality.
City Manager Scott Morelli praised the Water Resource Protection Department's (WRP) successful grant proposal. “Thanks to WRP’s smart and strategic work, our Trout Brook improvement project is one of only two projects in the state to receive this highly sought-after funding. This award is an important step in our coastal resiliency efforts and will result in stronger infrastructure, cleaner waterways, and a healthier natural environment in South Portland.”
WRP Director Fred Dillon is also excited about how the NFWF funding will greatly advance the City’s efforts to restore the aquatic habitat of Trout Brook. “For more than a decade, we have worked diligently with DEP and local stakeholders to implement the recommendations in the Trout Brook WMP. Completion of this NFWF project will represent the most significant work to date in our collective efforts to attain water quality standards.”
Project implementation is scheduled throughout 2025. Please look for more project information on the WRP web page in early 2025.
About the City of South Portland
The City of South Portland is a vibrant Southern Maine community of nearly 27,000 residents and over 1,500 businesses located on picturesque Casco Bay. www.southportland.gov
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