Portsmouth wins $770K in grants for water quality projects

These grants help prepare cities and towns to deal with our changing climate, while creating jobs for Rhode Islanders in engineering, construction and landscaping.”

Gov. Gina M. Raimondo

PORTSMOUTH — The R.I. Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM) is awarding of about $770,000 in matching grants for three projects aimed at improving water quality in Portsmouth.

The grants are among a total of $6.8 million in matching grants for 33 projects around the state to mitigate water pollution from stormwater and non-point sources, reduce flooding, and strengthen Rhode Island’s climate resilience, RIDEM announced Thursday.

The grants are made possible through funding from the Narragansett Bay and Watershed Restoration Bond Fund and the federal Clean Water Act Section 319 Nonpoint Source Pollution program. 

Here are the three projects involving Portsmouth that won matching grants:

• Town of Portsmouth — $433,200 for the elevating and upgrading of the culvert at the mouth of Mill Creek on Prudence Island. The project will reduce road flooding and restore functioning of a salt marsh. The project will be undertaken in collaboration with the Narragansett Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve.

• Town of Portsmouth — $35,820 to replace the cesspool at the Common Fence Point Community Center. The town is partnering with the Common Fence Point Improvement Association to upgrade the onsite wastewater system for the hall.

• Aquidneck Island Planning Commission — $300,000 for the construction of stormwater pollution abatement best management practices incorporating green infrastructure in the St. Mary’s Pond (Portsmouth), Bailey’s Brook (Middletown) and Maidford River (Middletown) watersheds. The project will reduce pollutant loadings into surface waters that are part of the Newport public drinking water system and aligns with the Island Waters partnership on Aquidneck Island, according to RIDEM.

“Climate change is real, and is poised to uniquely affect Rhode Island as the Ocean State,” Gov. Gina M. Raimondo said. “We need to take action to safeguard our natural resources and our communities. These grants help prepare cities and towns to deal with our changing climate, while creating jobs for Rhode Islanders in engineering, construction and landscaping.”

“We’re excited that these grants will enable us to work with municipalities and other partners to advance a cleaner, more resilient Rhode Island,” added DEM Director Janet Coit. “This work is vitally important given a changing climate that will continue to deliver increased annual rainfall and more intense storms to our region. Continuing to invest in water quality improvement efforts is critical. It strengthens our resilience, supports our quality of life, and helps attract people and businesses to locate here.”

According to Shaun O’Rourke, director of Stormwater and Resiliency at Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank. the grants will help protect the state’s infrastructure and critical natural resources. “The projects emphasize the importance of collaboration, from municipalities to community organizations, in better preparing Rhode Island for a new climate reality,” he said.

Visit DEM’s website for a full description of each project.