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I have been a proud member of the Friends of Warwick Ponds (FOWP) for about 2 years now. The time and effort that Phil D'Ercole and his wife Carmen, as well as the many other members, have dedicated to this cause has been nothing short of phenomenal . No one before has done as much to bring this matter to light. The issue, as I see it, is the choking amount of phragmites blocking the flow of water in, and especially, out of Warwick Pond. In years past the DPW was allowed to just go in and clear them out. Today, it practically takes an act of congress to clear them out and cleanse the Warwick Pond as a result. My co-worker Bob and I signed up for 8 sessions of counting the herring at Warwick Ave. In all 8 visits we only counted 1 herring. ONE! That hurts the herring run and the Striped bass that feed on them, for all of Narragansett Bay.

A now-retired member of the DPW once said to me "It's better to just go in and rip them (the phragmites) out and pay the fine, than go through all this ****! ". I tend to agree. Streets are flash-flooding. Backyards are flooding out. Property values are dropping and the pond water is no where near as clean as it should be. We need a solution of action, not more "research", in my opinion. There has to be some emergency-clause that we can enact in a case like this, without paying any fines. There must be.

I sincerely hope that the Mayor, the City Council, the DEM, and the FOWP can come together and correct this growing issue before the cost multiplies, because, left unattended it absolutely will. The problem is getting worse every day and it effects property values of us all.

Happy Easter everyone.

Rick Corrente

The Taxpayers Mayor