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The
Wickford Harbor Watershed Restoration Project has been undertaken by the Town of
North Kingstown in collaboration with
Save The Bay in an effort to improve the
water quality of Wickford Harbor and to support the re-establishment of a
sustainable eelgrass population in the Harbor.
This project has been undertaken as a result of the findings
from the
Wickford Harbor Watershed Assessment conducted by the
University of Rhode Island
Department of Cooperative Extension and is being funded by the
Rhode Island
Department of Environmental Management. The
actions that have been or will be undertaken in this restoration effort include:
development of abatement projects for non-point sources of nitrogen pollution;
conducting an intensive public education and consensus effort in the Wickford
Harbor Watershed to facilitate private pollution abatement efforts; and
development of best management practices to help control existing and future
loadings of nitrogen to the watershed. Like many of Narragansett Bay’s
small coves, Wickford Harbor is suffering the effects of pollution.
Nutrient pollution comes from septic systems and cesspools, lawn
fertilizer and road runoff. “According to a study conducted by the University
of Rhode Island on the pollution sources to Wickford Harbor, septic systems and
cesspools contribute about 80 percent of the nutrient pollution to the
harbor,” said Lenny Bellet, Save The Bay’s watershed planner.
Some of the tips to follow
include:
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Have
your septic system inspected once every three years and pumped as
needed.
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Conserve
water. Reducing the amount of wastewater going into your septic system
improves wastewater treatment.
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Consider
installing an advanced treatment septic system if you have a small yard,
problem soils or live near the harbor.
Click
here for more information on what you can do to help protect the
Wickford Harbor Watershed and learn more about the impacts of septic systems and
cesspools on the watershed environment.
For more information on this
project contact the North Kingstown Planning Department at 294-3331 Ext. 311.
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