Narragansett Bay Estuary Program - NBEP


Roger Williams Park Ponds Restoration

Roger Williams Park is Providence's most important greenspace, with more than a million visitors each year. The centerpiece of the park is a network of urban ponds--100 acres of fresh water valued for fishing, boating, and the scenic beauty they provide. The ponds, however, are polluted by urban runoff from nearby roads, shoreline erosion, waterfowl and other sources. NBEP is working with the City of Providence to begin restoring the ponds through innovative stormwater management. Last year, U.S. EPA awarded funding for the project which was matched by the City. Now we're working with a steering committee of stakeholders and technical experts, which is developing a restoration master plan to guide the two-year project. See a video clip of our partner, the Urban Ponds Project, rallying for a clean environment at Roger Williams Park last spring! Interested in Volunteering? Click here	Read the Providence Journal cover story on the RWP Ponds Project Click on the image above to view this 1831 map of the area where Roger Williams Park now stands. Click on the image above to view map of land use in the Roger Williams Park watershed. Click on the image above to view the impervious cover in the Roger Williams Park watershed. Click on the image above to view the data sets used to produce the above maps.
Project Documents Long and Short Term Goals of the Project Summary of Kickoff Meeting Horsley Witten Scope of Work Project Schedule Results of site walk visit to identify potential BMP sites BMP Site Selection and Ranking December 8th 2011 Steering Commettee Meeting Notes February 7, 2012 Public Meeting Presentation Slide Show Summary of Public Discussion November 15, 2011 Public Meeting Part 1: Presentation Summary Part 2: Issues Raised Background Information TMDL for Roger Williams Park Ponds R.I. Stormwater Manual RINHS BioBlitz of Roger Williams Park Project Partners Narragansett Bay Estuary Program Roger Williams Park Zoo City of Providence Providence Parks Department Land & Coastal Services Urban Pond Procession Serve Rhode Island U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 1 U.S. EPA, Atlantic Ecology Division U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, APHIS Program Environmental Justice League of RI R.I. Dept. of Environmental Management R.I. Coastal Resources Management Council R.I. Natural History Survey Horsley Witten Group Save the Bay Save the Lakes Pawtuxet River Authority & Watershed Council R.I. Bass Federation R.I. Dept. of Transportation URI Outreach Center URI Marine Ecosystems Research Laboratory URI Watershed Watch

Interested in Volunteering? Click here