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 The
Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council |
| Who
We Are and What We Do |
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| Fall colors on the Woonasquatucket near Cricket Park in Johnston. Photograph by Caroline Brown. |
In 1998, hundreds of watershed residents joined in the successful effort to have the Woonasquatucket River designated as one of fourteen American Heritage Rivers. This important federal designation honors the historic, cultural, economic and environmental significance of this Rhode Island treasure. The 18-mile-long Woonasquatucket River flows through 6 cities and towns in Rhode Island including Glocester, North Smithfield, Smithfield, Johnston, North Providence and Providence, where it flows into the Providence River and out into Narragansett Bay. Since the Woonasquatucket River was designated an American Heritage River many groups have taken an interest in revitalizing the river and the watershed that it runs through.
The Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council formed shortly after the American Heritage River designation. The group, organized by staff of the Woonasquatucket River Greenway Project, is composed of residents, representatives of local and state government, and local non-profits and works to improve the environmental, recreational and economic assets of the Woonasquatucket watershed. The Council works with the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RI DEM) and other state and federal agencies to design and implement projects in the watershed. The watershed has been chosen as a pilot for the RI DEM's Watershed Approach. The Woonasquatucket River Greenway Project is now a program of the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council.
The Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council has monthly meetings that are open to the public. Interested people are strongly encouraged to participate. For more information call the Watershed Council at 401-861-9046. For more ideas on how to contribute your time and knowledge, see our section on Getting Involved.
Current projects that the Watershed Council is involved with include:
- Working with local, state and federal partners to move forward with riparian buffer restorations at various sites in the watershed. The best sites for such restoration work were identified through research conducted in partnership with URI, RI DEM and the U.S. Forest Service.
- Working with state, federal, and local partners to act on a "Watershed Action Plan" that was developed to promote on-the-ground projects that advance the revitalization of the River and its watershed.
- Completing work on the Woonasquatucket River Greenway in Providence and Johnston.
- Working with the EPA as well as local and state partners to make sure that the cleanup work done at the Centredale Manor superfund site is conducted in a way that will best protect the health and other interests of the residents of the area as well as the health of the river.
For more information about what's happening at the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council contact Alicia Lehrer, Executive Director of the Council.
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| The Woonasquatucket: An American Heritage River |
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"Tonight, I announce that this year I will designate 10 American Heritage Rivers, to help communities alongside them revitalize their waterfronts and clean up pollution in the rivers, proving once again that we can grow the economy as we protect the environment."
- President Clinton’s 1997 State of the Union Address
On July 30, 1998 President Clinton designated the Woonasquatucket River as an American Heritage River. The Woonasquatucket is partnered with the Blackstone River for the purposes of this program.
Senator John H. Chafee nominated the Woonasquatucket and Blackstone Rivers for this designation. The proposal received immediate and strong support from Senator Jack Reed, Representative Weygand, Representative Kennedy, and Governor Almond, and residents of the 6 communities along the River, including Glocester, North Smithfield, Smithfield, Johnston, North Providence and Providence.
The river was chosen in part because of the significant role it played in the Industrial Revolution. The Woonasquatucket was one of the first rivers to be dammed by mill-owners to insure a steady supply of water year-round for their mills. In the last thirty years, as jobs have left the region and the mills have closed, the river has gone from a valued industrial asset to a neglected natural resource. In urban areas the river itself and its banks have become a dumping ground for chemicals and large solid debris. In rural areas the river is threatened by development pressures that swallow up open space and pave over the river banks.
For more general information about the American Heritage Rivers program see the EPA's American Heritage Rivers web site.
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| The
Watershed Approach |
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Adopted
by Rhode Island in 1999, the Watershed
Approach is a statewide strategy to address problems
of water quality, sprawl, and pollution on a regional
level and with an emphasis on citizen-based management.
There
are many advantages to managing on a watershed level
- more
comprehensive water quality management (including
non-point source pollution)
- opportunities
for regional restoration and open space planning
- a
wider base of skills and financial resources
- greater
public stakeholdership
The
Watershed Approach is currently being implemented by
the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management
(RI DEM) through two pilot programs-- the Woonasquatucket
River watershed and the South County watersheds.
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| Citywide Green |
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The Watershed Council, in partnership with a variety of other groups and individuals, founded and helps to run Citywide Green,
an organization that works with
residents and organizations to advocate for the creation, preservation, maintenance, and programming of our public spaces
. For more on Citywide Green please visit the Citywide Green web site.
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