ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District, and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, celebrate the beginning of construction with a ground breaking ceremony for the Waubonsie Creek Restoration Project, Oct. 1 at 10 a.m.
The $1.35 million construction project is cost shared between the Rock Island District and the IDNR, with the Rock Island District share being funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Media and the public are invited to attend the ceremony taking place at the Stonegate Park off of Route 25 in Oswego, Ill. In case of inclement weather, the ceremony will take place indoors at the Oswego Village hall, located at 100 Parker Mills in Oswego.
The Waubonsie Creek Restoration construction project, which was awarded in August to Frontier-Arrowhead of Olathe, Kan., will create fish passage from the mouth of Waubonsie Creek at the Fox River to Waubonsie Lake, upstream 7.37 miles. The project restores stream connectivity giving access to aquatic species for breeding, spawning, and foraging resulting in a healthy functioning ecosystem used by numerous wildlife species.
The Oswegoland Park District, along with the Village of Montgomery, the Fox Valley Park District, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service are instrumental in their support of this project and the creation of the community oriented Waubonsie Creek Watershed Plan which set objectives and recommendations for the watershed.
The Waubonsie Creek Restoration Project is being built as part of the Illinois River Basin Restoration 519 Program authorized by the Water Resources Development Act of 2000. The project consists of modifying three dams through the Village of Oswego for proper fish passage and the cleanup of two failed dams.
For more information about the groundbreaking ceremony, please contact Allen Marshall, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District, Corporate Communications office, at (309) 794-5204, Allen.A.Marshall@usace.army.mil.