News

Sound Rivers Program Director Clay Barber was back in Goldsboro today, checking in with the constructed wetland restoration that started this week at Wayne Community College.

Backwater Environmental kicked off the project this week by de-watering the pond and removing the sediment that’s been bogging down the wetland works.

“There’s going to be tons of mucky sediment they have to remove, a berm to rebuild and lots of reshaping of channels and pooling areas,” Clay said.

Sound Rivers is partnering with the college and Backwater Environmental to get the wetland back in working order by clearing out the sediment, then replanting it with 900 native wetland plants. The wetland drains from campus via Stoney Creek, which is a tributary of the Neuse River.

“Constructed wetlands need maintenance, otherwise you might end up with a shallow, sediment-filled pond with plants that really don’t do the work of native wetland plants,” Clay said. “But I have been marking a few shrubs and trees we may leave there for biodiversity and study purposes.”