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State Grants More Than $100K To Go Towards Dam Removal Study In Westchester To Help Fish

With the help of a more than $100,000 grant, a nonprofit will team up with a Westchester County school district to look into removing a dam in order to benefit migratory fish. 

Blind Brook in Rye.

Blind Brook in Rye.

Photo Credit: By Minard38 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=91048287

The $109,984 grant will fund a study to look into the removal of the Blind Brook Dam in Rye, which will be completed by both the Save the Sound nonprofit and students from Rye High School, according to an announcement from the New York Department of Environmental Conservation from Monday, Oct. 31. 

The removal of the dam could possibly reconnect 3.5 miles of migratory fish habitat for both river herring and American eel along Blind Brook, DEC officials said. 

The study will identify the effects of removing the dam, assess upstream barriers, and also monitor baseline water quality and nutrients, according to the DEC. 

"We are excited to be working on this project with the Rye High School and their students who will play a critical role in this feasibility study, particularly as we monitor water quality upstream and downstream of the dam. It is wonderful when restoration projects can come together under a truly integrated community approach and develop our future river stewards," said Laura Wildman, Save the Sound's Regional Director of Ecological Restoration. 

The funds granted by the DEC will support project design and lab analysis at Save the Sound's Larchmont laboratory, officials said. 

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