By
FRANK CARINI/ecoRI News staff
The natural resources of
the Pawcatuck River and Little Narragansett Bay play a major role in southern
New England’s economic success, especially for the boating industry. (Joanna
Detz/ecoRI News photos)
ABOARD THE ELIZABETH MORRIS — Little Narragansett Bay is quietly
tucked away between its noisier neighbors — Narragansett Bay and Long Island
Sound. But this watershed on the Rhode Island-Connecticut border plays a vital
role in southern New England’s economy. Boats of all sizes, from yachts to
canoes, dot the water, especially on summer weekends. Tourist visit the area to
swim, fish, observe wildlife, dine and shop.
The fact that the 317-mile Little Narragansett Bay/Pawcatuck River
watershed is stressed and impaired is cause for concern, both economically and
environmentally.
“This is our economy,” David Prescott, Save The Bay’s South Country coastkeeper, said shortly into a July 16 tour of the watershed. “We have to make sure we protect it.”
Before the Elizabeth Morris departed Viking Marina in Westerly,
R.I., Save The Bay’s executive director, Jonathan Stone, told the 20 or so
journalists, elected officials and scientists on board that the watershed needs
protection from development, population growth and climate change.
“This is an incredibly beautiful space,” Stone said. “Its habitat
and aquatic life is very valuable. The watershed is economically important to
the region. It’s one of the gems in this part of the world.”
Little Narragansett Bay doesn’t garner the same attention that
Narragansett Bay and Long Island Sound do, but this important economic,
environmental and recreational resource is threatened by many of the same
concerns — development pressures, human impacts and a changing climate.
Because of its topography and shallow depths, it also faces different
challenges.
The Pawcatuck River estuary has been studied for decades by state
agencies, universities and environmental groups. While much has been done to
clean up the pollution caused by industrial and manufacturing businesses,
contaminated runoff from roads, roofs, lawns and farms remains a problem.
The 317-mile Little
Narragansett Bay watershed faces a number of threats that could impact its
health and productivity. (Save The Bay)
Prescott has been monitoring the watershed’s water quality and
ecological health for the past seven years. He said Little Narragansett Bay is
stressed by elevated bacteria levels, high nutrient loads, large, thick mats of
macroalgae, poor flushing in shallow coves, and decreased dissolved oxygen
levels. These stressors are threatening water quality, marine and coastal
ecosystem health, and the region's recreational value, he noted.
Elevated bacteria readings have been documented in both wet and
dry weather conditions in the upper estuary. Near the downtowns of Westerly and
Pawcatuck, Conn., a number of outfall pipes directly discharge into the
Pawcatuck River.
Save The Bay touted last week’s invitation-only outing as a call
to action, to urge local communities — and not just Westerly and Stonington,
Conn. — and their residents to help mitigate pollution impacts. The
Providence-based nonprofit also would like agencies and officials in both
states to better enforce the environmental regulations that protect this shared
natural resource.
The environmental group is pushing watershed municipalities along
the coast and upstream to develop plans to better manage stormwater runoff,
ensure septic systems are working properly and to closely monitor the
watershed.
Much like the problems facing areas of Narragansett Bay and Long
Island Sound, contaminated stormwater and combined sewer overflow washing into
Little Narragansett Bay are causing parts of the bay to degrade. This runoff
and overflow carries oil, gasoline and grease, lawn fertilizer, pet waste and
bacteria. This pollution has closed part of Little Narragansett Bay to
shellfishing since 1991.
Since 2007, when Save The Bay opened its South Coast Center in Westerly, it has been testing, in
cooperation with the University of Rhode Island’s Watershed Watch program, in six locations in Little
Narragansett Bay/Pawcatuck River, documenting water temperature, clarity,
salinity, and nutrient, dissolved oxygen and pH levels.
While continued monitoring shows water quality is impaired and problems persist, scientists need
more data to fully understand the bay and its watershed, Stone said.
Something stinks
Much of the area in the watershed is built up and covered with
impervious surfaces, which rushes stormwater pollution into Little Narragansett
Bay. In fact, a third of Rhode Island’s runoff drains into the Pawcatuck River
watershed, according to Prescott.
Thanks to large amounts of nitrogen, much of it from lawn
fertilizers, contained in this runoff, thick mats of macroalgae — called “black
ooze” or “black mayonnaise,” depending on whom you are speaking with — cover
much of the bottom of Little Narragansett Bay between Watch Hill and Sandy
Point.
This patchwork blanket of algae, which gives off a rotten-egg
smell when a piece is pulled into a boat or some of it washes into shore,
creates low-oxygen zones that suffocate eelgrass and iconic New England marine
life such as oysters and scallops. In some places, this decaying organic matter
is several feet thick and spreading, according to Prescott.
The University of Connecticut and the University of Rhode Island
are both studying this algae formation, which shows no signs of disappearing.
“It’s not quite a dead zone, but it isn’t really what it should
be,” Prescott said. “We don’t want to see Little Narragansett Bay any more
impaired than it is now.”
Pollution from outfall
pipes is helping to create conditions that allow a growing mat of
bottom-dwelling macroalgae to snuff out other aquatic life in the watershed.
Royal flush
This algae has always been at the bottom, but the amount of it is
growing and impacting the natural flushing of the bay.
Exacerbating the bay’s flushing problem is the fact Sandy Point, a
narrow island that was cut off from mainland Connecticut by the 1938 hurricane,
is slowly moving to the north, creating a barrier that is impairing the bay’s
ability to flush excess nutrients.
Erosion and more frequent and severe rains also are changing the
currents, leading to poor flushing of the bay’s many shallow coves and the
buildup of macroalgae.
A growing amount of the black mayo is washing up on the Borough of
Stonington’s shore and having a huge impact on the oldest borough in
Connecticut.
“This organic matter is decaying and smells awful,” Prescott said.
“Residents have to keep their windows closed.”
Don’t feed the birds
Prescott noted, on more than one occasion during the two-hour
cruise, the water-quality problems created by the feeding waterfowl such as
Canada geese and swans, whose waste contributes to increased bacteria/nutrient
levels.
Up until about four years ago, hundreds of swans and Canada geese
often congregated at the mouth of the Pawcatuck River, because an elderly
Stonington resident was routinely feeding them. After local officials explained
the negative impact all these birds were having on the river’s ecosystem, the
woman stopped and most of the birds left.
Many of the swans and geese that remain are found on private lawns
that stretch to the riverbank. Long, native grasses and other shoreline
vegetation would help keep waterfowl from congregating and would better filter
runoff pollutants.
In fact, according to Save The Bay, there are a number of
individual actions that, combined with state and local programs, would help
minimize watershed impacts. Land conservation, salt-marsh protection and
pump-out programs are among the measures state agencies and local groups have
taken to protect the watershed.
Among some of the environmentally friendly actions individuals can
take include: replacing your cesspool, installing a rain garden, using a rain
barrel, properly maintaining your septic system and/or fertilizing and mowing
your lawn less.
“Having a lush, green lawn is part of our culture and it’s hard to
make changes,” said Cindy Sabato, Save The Bay’s director of communications.
“If you can’t or don’t want to replace your lawn with a rain garden or native
bushes and shrubs, apply less fertilizer and don’t fertilize before it is
expected to rain.”