CONDUCTING A STORMWATER ASSESSMENT 2020-2022

In early 2020, Friends of Green Hill Pond (FGHP) partnered with the Town of South Kingstown to jointly pursue a federal watershed grant from the Southeast New England Program (SNEP) to help fund this assessment. The Town was the overall project lead but FGHP provided grant writing assistance, matching funds, site recommendations, and community outreach. In July 2020, we were awarded a $100,000 SNEP grant.

In late 2020, Woodard and Curran (W&C) was selected as the environmental engineering consultant to conduct the assessment. EPA regulatory requirements and pandemic challenges slowed progress in 2021 but by December 2021, the assessment was complete. The full report can be found HERE.

Thirty-two land catchments were identified and evaluated for stormwater management opportunities. Four catchment areas in South Kingstown and Route 1 were flagged as top priorities. The four South Kingstown areas had stormwater control concept designs developed. Route 1 was excluded from concept design due to state DOT ownership, although FGHP is still pursuing this with the state. These priority areas alone contribute around 10-12% of the nitrogen and bacteria loading of the entire watershed so addressing these areas will matter to Pond health.

Factory Pond Stream (FPS) was also identified as a very significant contributor of nitrogen and bacteria but was excluded due to current regulatory barriers to streamflow diversion and treatment. FGHP thinks it may be worth challenging RI Department of Environmental Management on this issue given that FPS drains almost 50% of the Green Hill Pond watershed in South Kingstown and has a huge impact on downstream water resources, namely Green Hill Pond.