Newport Bay Partnership Receives $2 Million in Funding for Watershed Restoration

BERLIN, Md.- Maryland has awarded 2 million dollars in funding to the Newport Bay Partnership, which looks to support watershed restoration and flood mitigation.

This partnership includes Maryland Coastal Bays, Assateague Coastal Trust, Lower Shore Land Trust, the Town of Berlin, and Worcester County Government.

The funding comes from Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) as part of a five year approach to improve water quality in the state.

The project is now in it’s second year, and this round of funding will benefit the restoration of the Bottle Branch stream in Berlin, which directly impacts the Newport watershed.

Jessica McIntosh is the program coordinator at Maryland Coastal Bays, and expressed the importance of restoring this specific watershed.

“We are focusing on Newport Bay because it’s the most polluted out of the five coastal bays in Maryland.” Said McIntosh. “And again, not just the bay itself, but really the whole watershed that’s draining into it. That’s why we’re doing work, like way up here [Bottle Branch]. Where we don’t even see the ocean.”

The state also provided an additional $250,000 to monitor the projects.