‘Crisis’ appeal to cut bay pollution

Posted 8/1/13

The numbers tell the story and it isn’t pretty.

Collectively, there have been more Warwick beach closures this summer than in any other municipality.

Between Oakland Beach, Conimicut, City …

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‘Crisis’ appeal to cut bay pollution

Posted

The numbers tell the story and it isn’t pretty.

Collectively, there have been more Warwick beach closures this summer than in any other municipality.

Between Oakland Beach, Conimicut, City Park and Goddard Park, there have been 60 beach closures this summer. That compares with 107 closures statewide and a total of 54 statewide for all of last year.

Those numbers and bay water quality, as being monitored by Save the Bay, indicate that the bay faces a “water quality crisis,” Tom Kutcher told a gathering of news media and elected officials yesterday morning at the gazebo at Oakland Beach Commons.

Kutcher, the BayKeeper for Save the Bay, identified the unusual amount of rain this summer as a major factor.

“When it rains in Rhode Island, we swim in pollution,” he said. He pointed to multiple sources, from fertilizer runoff, cesspools and failing septic systems, fecal matter from pets and animals, oil drippings on driveways and parking lots and “goo from dumpsters.”

Kutcher said this “pollution soup” is not only bad for our economy and way of life, but also the bay’s ecology. He said that the nutrient-rich runoff prompts algae blooms that lead to cycles where waters are depleted of oxygen. He said that oxygen readings of Greenwich Bay found levels lower than those recorded only a couple of days after the massive fish kill of August 2003.

“The pride of our state is in crisis today,” Kutcher said.

But fixing the problem is neither going to be easy nor inexpensive – and that, too, was the message Save the Bay was looking to deliver. The environmental organization is calling for stepped up storm water management and the phase-out of cesspools statewide.

Mayor Scott Avedisian, who also shared the microphone for the press event, called the beach closures a “perfect example of why we should all be concerned.” Avedisian said that, within the next two weeks, the city would post a newly created position for a storm water engineer in the Department of Public Works. The engineer will assess the city’s storm water drains and look for means to control contaminates reaching the bay and the city’s fresh water ponds.

“We’re here to work in partnership with Save the Bay,” said the mayor.

In response to questions from the media, Avedisian said a high number of the state’s 25,000 cesspools are in Warwick. He was joined by Ward 5 Councilman Edgar Ladouceur in pointing out that a council commission is in the process of examining Warwick Sewer Authority rates and plans to extend the sewer system.

Avedisian also said he favors legislation introduced by Rep. Teresa Tanzi to phase-out cesspools across the state. Current legislation calls for the elimination of cesspools within 200 feet of the shoreline and bodies of fresh water.

Save the Bay executive director Jonathan Stone said there have been advancements in bay water quality with Narragansett Bay Commission’s implementation of the first phase of the combined storm water overflow system. The underground reservoir system enables the collection of water that would otherwise flow into the bay without treatment during heavy downpours. The contained wastewater is then processed at a later time.

Pressed if this year is not simply an anomaly – a perfect storm of beach closures – Stone agreed that conditions have lined up this year, but the data shows a consistent cycle of summer beach closures. Statewide closures for prior summers are in the range of 50 to 75.

He also pointed out that three of the city’s beaches, Oakland Beach, City Park and Goddard Park, are all on Greenwich Bay. He said three factors, wind, temperature and rain, play significant roles in water oxygen levels. In addition, the shape of the bay and the fact that it is shallow contribute to low flushing and the introduction of water by tidal action.

Stone agreed that climate changes and warmer summers could be a contributing factor.

“No question the summers are getting hotter,” he said, “but we can’t count on the weather to solve it.”

As for the elimination of cesspools, Rep. K. Joseph Shekarchi called a suggested requirement that homes with cesspools be required to connect with the sewer system or install septic systems a start. He said he wouldn’t favor legislation that would increase taxes and that addressing bay water quality is a “balancing” between addressing multiple environmental and social issues.

Rep. Frank Ferri, who is a member of the council commission created by Ladouceur, said the issue of extending sewers to shoreline areas is being addressed. Yet, as Avedisian pointed out, there are some problematic areas such as Potowomut. He said installing a separate treatment system for the 300-household neighborhood would be cost-prohibitive. Linking to the East Greenwich system was once considered, but he said that town rejected it.

“If this was an easy plan, we wouldn’t be here,” Stone said. “This is incredibly complex. As communities, we must come together.”

There was no disagreement with his summation, although accomplishing what he defines as a course of action won’t be without cost or debate.

Comments

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  • bendover

    UNREAL, and what of the $600M combined sewage overflow project in Providence, something that was suppose to greatly reduce the need for beach closures and shell fishing bans? The Brown professor who said early on that this project would be hard pressed to work as advertised was correct. If anything, we are headed in the wrong direction, $600M later. I am still waiting for this pod of politicians to answer the question regarding those citizens who replaced their cesspools with new septic systems, at their cost, and still will be assessed and forced to tie in...Do any of you clowns see any inequity in this, or is it all about a money grab to unwind another mismanaged division of municipal services?

    Thursday, August 1, 2013 Report this

  • maggie123

    There has been a huge difference in the bay since the opening of the treatment plant in Providence. I live on the north side of Rocky Point and I can't even begin to tell you the difference in water quality, plant life and shell fishing. Though not perfect, I for one have seen the difference first hand. Controlling run off and failing cesspools is the next logical step and in my opinion should have been address years ago.

    Sunday, August 4, 2013 Report this

  • bendover

    OK...Then explain this inconsistency...Why are beach closures and shell fishing bans just as bad now after spending $600M? I was at the hearings...I heard the promises and projections...ALL LIES...It was about building the damn project and it might work than that is a bonus.

    Sunday, August 4, 2013 Report this

  • Reality

    Avedisan is a fraud. He has been questioned about storm drain runoff for years and yet the city has done nothing. Now Scottie talks as he is the knight in shining armor. Stop lying to the public Scottie....it is getting tiring.

    Sunday, August 4, 2013 Report this

  • JohnStark

    Thank God we have a mayor who is taking the bold and courageous step of being "concerned". Now that's leadership! In addition, he's going to "...work in partnership with Save the Bay." Wow! A true Churchill of our time, stepping up to make the tough decisions. A couple of Indian bowls were dug up in Longmeadow and the entire sewer project came to a screeching halt. No comment on that. The debates with Langevin next year should be the stuff of legend, assuming anyone can stay awake.

    Monday, August 5, 2013 Report this

  • HerbTokerman

    All along the bay are septic systems that are almost 30 years old.

    Sewers were supposed to be installed 3 years ago, but they're still not installed.

    Now the projected install date is 2018, which will probably get delayed yet again because they still have no plan to pay for it.

    Why would anyone spend $20,000 on a new septic system when it's supposedly going to be useless in 5 years and they'll be forced to tie in to sewers?

    Big shocker that there's pollution in the bay.

    It will probably get worse before it gets better.

    Monday, August 5, 2013 Report this

  • Reality

    Read the comments from the tree huggers. The WSA is responsible for the biggest ecological disaster 3 yrs. ago during the floods but everyone else is responsible for the pollution in the bay...give me a break.

    Avedisian has also done nothing to correct the storm drain runoff....he is a fraud.

    Monday, August 5, 2013 Report this

  • bendover

    Earth to Herb: ??? You said..."All along the bay are septic systems that are almost 30 years old." Herbie, who said anything about 30+ year old cesspools or septic systems? I am talking about folks who installed new, state of the art, ISDS systems in the last 8-10. You can't compare apples with watermelons.

    You said, "Why would anyone spend $20,000 on a new septic system when it's supposedly going to be useless in 5 years and they'll be forced to tie in to sewers? " HELLO, groundwater pollution, runoff, untreated human waste...Or is someone suppose to wait to be charged by the city or State for operating a failed system? So in other words, a responsible property owner who takes the initiative and replaces their failed system with a top of the line ISDS system is foolish?

    You said, "Sewers were supposed to be installed 3 years ago, but they're still not installed. " DUH...Do you even have a clue how the bond market works, or put another way, do you believe Moody's, Standard & Poor's or any other of the rating agencies are all foolish, that they don't consider the ratio of debt that a municipality may already be obligated to pay debt service on bonds, before rating, or even considering making a recommendation of a bond grade based on those factors?

    Here's the deal...Don't come to me demanding me to tie in when I already put a whole new system in, and according to the engineer who designed the system said that with proper maintenance it should be OK for 35+ years. You are already going to club me with an assessment.

    Stark and Reality have this correct...THis department has been a cluster &%$# since the beginning, starting with assessments not being done properly right from the beginning...So now, all Warwick has to pay to make up the financial debacle. What a way to run an airline!

    Tuesday, August 6, 2013 Report this