For Release: May 21, 1997

Contact: Peyton Fleming 277-2771

Stephanie Powell 277-2771 ext. 4418

PROVIDENCE - The RI Department of Environmental Management has announced that two areas totaling more than 380 acres will be re-opened to shellfishing because of improvements in water quality. At the same time, DEM is closing two small areas because of elevated levels of pollution. The changes take effect at sunrise Friday, May 23.

More than 275 acres on Greenwich Bay just south of Baker Creek and the Nausauket neighborhood of Warwick will reopen to shellfishing, although Baker Creek itself remains closed. In Hundred Acre Cove in Barrington, 104 acres north of a line from Henry Court to the concrete shelter on the westerly side of the cove will reopen.

"The two re-openings are great and are likely due to the work of DEM and its partners. There is no single action we can point to that has lead to the improvements in water quality," said Frederick Vincent, Acting Director of DEM. "It is likely the result of cumulative improvements in controlling nonpoint sources of pollution such as fixing failing septic systems in the watersheds of both areas, better treatment of municipal and commercial discharges, and greater awareness by communities in their land use and planning processes. All of these incremental reductions of pollution loads can add up to improvements in the water quality."

"Improvements in the Greenwich Bay area south of Nausauket can probably be linked to improvements to Hardig Brook, part of the Greenwich Bay Initiative," said Susan Adamovicz, program manager for DEM's Narragansett Bay Estuary Program. "Under the initiative, DEM, the City of Warwick, the Warwick Sewer Authority, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the Southern RI Conservation District have been working cooperatively to reduce pollution from nonpoint sources. Homeowners in the Hardig Brook neighborhood have been fixing or replacing failed septic systems, and corrective measures have been taken by two main contributors to pollution of Hardig Brook. The Apponaug Mill, which had a direct discharge from its restrooms to the brook is now tied into the sewer system, and manure storage procedures at an upstream farm have been corrected.

"There is still much work to be done to make sure the area can remain open, but working together we are already seeing improvements to Hardig Brook," Adamowicz said.

Hundred Acre Cove in Barrington has been closed to shellfishing since 1995 due to nonpoint source pollution from the 10 square mile Runnins River watershed area which transcends two states and several towns. DEM has been working with the Runnins River Steering Committee, a group comprised of representatives from the Pokanoket Watershed Alliance and other citizen groups, as well as local officials from Seekonk, MA and East Providence, state officials from Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and federal Environmental Protection Agency officials to find and eliminate pollution sources. Potential pollution sources include failing septic systems, leaking sewer lines, illegal or inappropriate tie-ins or discharges to storm drains, and runoff carrying animal waste.

The tightly knit, diverse group has been meeting regularly every two months since 1989 to address major issues of concern, Bob Ballou, DEM's Runnins River Watershed Coordinator, said. "The group initiated a wet weather study and an assessment of the watershed to pinpoint pollution sources, and although it has yet to come up with a smoking gun, there is an increased public awareness within the watershed community about potential pollution problems. It is very possible that individuals have improved the way they do things."

Ballou gives special credit to Seekonk officials and business owners, who, he said, "have been spearheading improvements to septic systems in the Route 6 corridor. A number of upgrades have been made to commercial septic systems, and improvements have been made to storm drains."

"The collaborative and comprehensive approach to watershed management taken by the Runnins River Steering Committee and by the Greenwich Bay Initiative is an efficient and effective way to work and find solutions," Vincent said, "and is the approach we at DEM are taking with all our watersheds. These trends wouldn't be recognized without the ongoing efforts of DEM's shellfish monitoring group which plays another important role in our newly created watersheds section in our Division of Water Resources."

Speaking of the two new closures announced by DEM, Vincent said, "Although no specific sources of pollution to the areas have been found, it shows the need to continue taking a teamwork approach to focusing on nonpoint pollution control efforts in our watersheds." The two areas, totaling 18 acres, are a 500 foot radius of Mount Hope Bay from the end of the jetty at the end of Hopeworth Avenue in Bristol, and a triangular area of Bristol Narrows from telephone pole 42 on Narrows Road and the shoreline public access adjacent to Sunrise Drive in Bristol out to nunbuoys 2 and 4.