Initial work has begun on the Town of Riverside’s boat launch. Last month the town held an impromptu straw poll to decide on a name and “Riverside Landing” was chosen by those in attendance at a town council meeting.

As work began on the launch, the Environmental Protection Agency found a small area that officials think might be a wetland area. The town is expecting the result of that finding in the coming days.

“When you apply for a grant you have to get certain folks to sign off on it like the Historical Commission and the environmental agencies,” Riverside mayor, Rusty Jessup, said. “So, we have to stop at this point and wait on the EPA to come and look at the area again. We can go ahead and do temporary work to the piers and to our boat ramp, though.”

The town wanted to start grating down the banks of the landing to stop erosion before water rises in the coming weeks, but that will have to wait until the EPA makes its assessment.

The wetland area is on a part of the bank on the north shore of the slough channel of the town’s boat launch, which sits across the street from Riverside’s Town Hall.

Jessup said that the name for the boat launch first came about because the town had to have a name for the project to coincide with a grant application that was turned in a few weeks ago. “We like the name that the people came up with,” he said. “It stuck and I think it’s a good name. That’s what it will be from now on.”