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News Release RI Department of Environmental Management 235 Promenade Street, Providence, RI 02908 (401) 222-2771 TDD/(401) 222-4462
DEM ANNOUNCES CLOSURE OF POINT JUDITH AND WINNAPAUG PONDS TO SHELLFISHING BEGINNING AT NOON TODAY AS A RESULT OF EXCESSIVE RAINFALL AND RUNOFF PROVIDENCE - The Department of Environmental Management has announced that two coastal ponds in South County are closed to shellfish harvesting beginning at noon Thurday, July 2, until further notice.Closure areas include all of Point Judith Pond in South Kingstown and Winnapaug Pond in Charlestown. The closure is being enacted because of the excessive rainfall and runoff the area has experienced over the past two days. More than five inches of rain has fallen in the Westerly area and over 2.5 inches in South Kingstown and Charlestown during the past 24 hours. Data from similar rain events indicate that Pt. Judith and Winnapaug Ponds experience unacceptably high bacteria levels under these conditions, whereas Quonochontaug and Ninigret Ponds' bacteria levels were found to be acceptable. DEM will begin water sampling next Tuesday, July 7, weather permitting, to determine when the waters will be safe for shellfish harvesting. In addition to Point Judith and Winnapaug Ponds, other areas closed to shellfish harvesting as a result of the recent rainfall include Conditional Areas A and B in Narragansett Bay, Greenwich Bay, Kickemuit River, and Mount Hope Bay. These areas are scheduled to be reopened at sunrise Friday, July 10. DEM maintains a 24-hour shellfishing hotline with recorded updated information on shellfish closure areas. That number is 222-2900. -30- |
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