The CSPDC Chesapeake Bay Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP) program will be receiving nearly $300,000 through the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to fund stormwater improvements for the City of Waynesboro’s South River Preserve Project. The funding will be used to replace five-acres of former industrial land and impervious surface along the South River with native tree and plant species to establish a floodplain forest and meadow.
The plantings will improve habitat along the South River and promote infiltration of runoff from the highly compacted soils, and is part of a larger effort to improve water quality, protect wildlife habitat, and enhance recreational fishing. The project will be complete in 2024.