The second and final phase of restoration of one of Long Island Sound's most significant fish and wildlife habitats, Manursing Lake, next to the county's Edith G. Read Natural Park and Wildlife Sanctuary in Rye, has been completed.

County Executive Robert P. Astorino and local, state and federal officials celebrated the accomplishment Tuesday.     

"This restoration project is one of more than 36 projects completed by the county in the drainage area of Long Island Sound and elsewhere, part of our ongoing effort to control stormwater pollution and improve water quality," said Astorino. "A restoration project of this kind is more than just cosmetics – although it is that too. Its purpose is to improve this valuable ecosystem and treasure we have on Long Island Sound."

Funding for the various restoration projects came from county, local, state and federal sources, including federal funds secured by Congresswoman Nita Lowey, as well as grants from non-profit organizations.

"I congratulate Westchester County and residents for the completion of the Manursing Lake restoration project. I hope area residents and visitors take advantage of this fish and wildlife habitat, and I am pleased we are working together to protect this ecosystem for current and future generations," Lowey said in a statement.

The man-made lake covers approximately 80 acres with depths of up to 30 feet. Once a complex of tidal wetlands and creeks, the area was dredged in the 1920s to create the existing lake to be an attraction at the adjacent county-owned Playland Amusement Park.

The first phase, completed in October 2009, replaced an outdated, manually operated tidal gate with a more effective electronically controlled one. Construction on this second phase of the project, which began in April 2010, restored and created costal habitats including a tidal creek, salt marshes (tidal wetlands) and the lake's southern shoreline. A "rain" garden was installed next to Read Sanctuary's nature center to collect stormwater runoff.

The restoration, which also adds to the beauty of the site, will improve water quality and biodiversity in the lake and adjacent Long Island Sound. Part of an ongoing effort to control stormwater pollution, it is one of three dozen projects completed by the county in areas draining to the Sound and implemented over the past 12 years. These county projects have restored ponds, streams and wetlands and installed structures to treat stormwater runoff that can pollute water resources.

The Department of Planning secured grants to help fund the Manursing Lake project and coordinated the design and the construction supervision with other county departments, including Environmental Facilities, Public Works and Transportation, and Parks, Recreation and Conservation.

For this project, county funds were leveraged with a $400,000 grant from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation 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. County funds totaling $300,000 also were used for the project's implementation as part of a 2008 state Department of Environmental Conservation consent order requiring funds to be used on projects that benefit the environment.

The tidal lake and its surroundings are designated as a Significant Coastal Fish and Wildlife Habitat by the New York Department of State. 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.

The Stormwater Management and Natural Resources (Aquatic) Restoration Program recently won a Planning Achievement Award from the Westchester Municipal Planning Federation. More information on the county aquatic restoration program can be found at www.westchestergov.com/restoration.