Woonasquatucket River Restoration

Several clean-up events took place throughout the summer and fall months of 2002 the largest of which involved more than 80 volunteers from NBC, RI DEM, and local businesses. NBC has committed manpower and the use of such heavy equipment as backhoes and dump trucks to collect and properly dispose of waste debris, including numerous automobile tires, bottles, cans, shopping carts, and such large items as refrigerators and pieces of industrial equipment that have found their way into urbanized areas of the river.

The Woonasquatucket is one of several tributaries of Narragansett Bay and flows through heavily populated urban areas of Providence, North Providence and Smithfield before joining the Providence River and eventually flowing into upper Narragansett Bay. Stormwater runoff and overflows are the likely causes of much of the floatable waste debris being collected while much of the larger debris being removed is suspected to come from the improper dumping of these materials. NBC is working with RI DEM to both educate and regulate businesses that may be source of this debris.

In preparation for several large scale clean-up events to take place in 2003 NBC has used an EMS approach to help identify clean-up sites along the river, organize and manage volunteers, identify and address potential hazards, and set achievable and measurable clean-up goals.