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News Release RI Department of Environmental Management 235 Promenade St., Providence, RI 02908 (401) 222-2771 TDD/(401) 222-4462
DEM ISSUES APPROVAL TO WARWICK FOR ADVANCED WASTEWATER TREATMENT The requirement to provide additional treatment was originally placed on all three municipalities with treated wastewater discharges to the Pawtuxet River to correct a severe lack of oxygen in the river, due largely to excess ammonia. At that time, the communities- Warwick, West Warwick and Cranston- were required only to reduce the amount of ammonia, BOD and suspended solids discharged from their treatment plants. But, as the communities began planning for the treatment upgrades, DEM was simultaneously looking at the causes and effects of excess nutrients in upper Narragansett Bay and the Providence and Seekonk Rivers. Among other things, DEM found that the discharges from the Pawtuxet River wastewater treatment plants were not only affecting river, but the upper Bay as well. Excess nutrients from the river and other sources stimulate algae growth, which robs the water of the oxygen necessary to fish and shellfish. The algae also prevents sunlight needed for seagrass growth from penetrating the water. Once this determination was made, DEM contacted the Pawtuxet communities to let them know that they would probably need to provide more treatment in the near future to reduce nutrients, primarily nitrogen and phosphorous. As a result, Warwick, West Warwick and Cranston agreed to design and construct more advanced plant improvements that would allow them to meet the future requirements more quickly and efficiently. As a result of DEM's latest approval, Warwick is now authorized to proceed with the construction phase of its advanced treatment program. Meanwhile, on a voluntary basis, the City of Warwick has already taken interim steps to immediately reduce the impacts to the Pawtuxet River and Upper Bay from excessive ammonia and nutrients. With assistance from DEM's municipal wastewater training program, and a grant from the state's aquafund program, Warwick wastewater treatment staff have made temporary plant modifications and process changes that have already significantly reduced the amount of ammonia and total nitrogen being discharged to the Pawtuxet River. These reductions will remain in effect during the three and one-half years it will take to construct the permanent plant upgrades. "I commend Warwick officials for taking the initiative to improve water quality in the Pawtuxet River and the Upper Bay, now rather than later," said DEM Director Jan Reitsma. "The move reflects the City's long-standing commitment to the health of the Bay and its tributaries." The two other Pawtuxet communities are also well on their way to implementing their plant upgrades. The City of Cranston has completed an initial construction stage and will be submitting design plans for total nitrogen and phosphorous control by the end of this year. The Town of West Warwick recently submitted to DEM revised final design plans for advanced treatment. The Department expects to complete its review of those plans by the end of this year. As a result of the three advanced treatment projects, DEM anticipates that dissolved oxygen concentrations in the Pawtuxet River will rise to acceptable levels by December 2004. Those efforts will also contribute to DEM's goal of achieving acceptable dissolved oxygen levels in the Upper Bay and Providence and Seekonk Rivers by December 2008. -30- |
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