Millions of dollars are headed to Connecticut for flood prevention and protecting Long Island Sound.
For Mark Campbell, who lives blocks away from the Bridgeport waterfront, the money is welcome news.
“It’s actually very bad when it floods,” he said.
Campbell's entire neighborhood surrounding Seaside Park was underwater after Superstorm Sandy in 2012. Statewide, the storm caused $82 million in damage.
Now, money is headed to Connecticut and surrounding states to combat the growing flood threat.
“We’re here today to announce 36 grants totaling nearly $12 million to the Long Island Sound,” said Amanda Bassow, with the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, which is supplying the funding along with the Environmental Protection Agency and private sources. “The grants will prevent over 600,000 gallons of storm water runoff and approximately 3,000 pounds of nitrogen pollution from entering the Sound.”
Combined with matching funds, more than $20 million is headed to projects in Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont.
In Stamford, a quarter-million dollars will help restore a critical salt marsh Greenwich is getting money to restore protective dunes on Shell Island. And in Ridgefield, an obsolete dam will be removed on the Norwalk River – one of three to be taken down across the state.
“I think we have the highest number of dams per river-mile in the country, or at least in New England,” said Emma Cimino, a deputy commissioner at the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk will also get $809,900 to remove 3,200 abandoned lobster traps, removing 160,000 pounds of marine debris from Long Island Sound.
Campbell said he is already seeing improvements since Sandy.
“They did that on the East End What they actually did was, they raised the houses. They put pillars up under the houses and raised the houses,” he said. “Anything to save the city. Bridgeport is the best. You know, we love Bridgeport.”
Here is a full list of projects receiving funding: