Rivers of Rhode Island

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, in close collaboration with Save The Bay, has analyzed four rivers in Rhode Island and southern Massachusetts - Pawcatuck, Pawtuxet, Blackstone, Taunton -  for one year from March 2012 to February 2013.   Water samples were taken by community volunteers approximately once per month, and about once every other month in more detail by our group.  Samples have been analyzed for dissolved and particulate constituents and possible contaminants, both natural and man-made.  The analytical data allow us to identify and quantify inputs from industry, agriculture, and city infrastructure, as well as from road and combined storm-and-sewer runoff.Save The Bay assisted in managing a network of volunteers to aid in the sampling.  They have hosted workshops/symposia in Rhode Island with volunteers, educators, environmental managers, policy makers and the research community both during and after the study, to ensure that the results are effectively disseminated to appropriate stakeholders.

The map shows the four large watersheds that provide Rhode Island with drinking water, that supply the coastal ocean, including Narragansett Bay, with nutrients, but also pollutants, and provide scenic opportunities for recreation. (RIGIS, modified by B. Peucker-Ehrenbrink)

For the diverse analyses we carry out at WHOI, we need many different samples of water, aquatic plants, debris floating in the water and sediments from the river bed.