The City of Jacksonville will receive $175,000 to continue efforts to preserve and protect the New River. The grant will help the city expand 12 of the existing New River Estuary Oyster Highway sites, construct 1,850 small patch reefs, and add nearly 2.5 million oysters to improve biofiltration.
“This grant will help safeguard the New River,” said Attorney General Josh Stein. “It will help marine life thrive and help improve the quality of water sources.”
“The City of Jacksonville is committed to preserving and protecting the New River, a process which began 21 years ago with the close of the City’s Wilson Bay WWTP and the immediate cleanup efforts utilizing an innovative process called bioremediation,” said Pat Donovan-Brandenburg, stormwater manager for the city of Jacksonville. “We continued those efforts three years ago with the “New River Oyster Highway” where we created 12 half-acre artificial reefs or stepping stone habitats for oyster and fish populations in the region between Wilson Bay and Stones Bay within the New River.
“Using funds provided by the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office’s Enhancement Grant Program, we will expand the 12 existing NRE Oyster Highway sites by adding more than 2,480,000 oysters and constructing an additional approximate 1,850 patch reefs (across all sites).”