Stormwater runoff has plagued Providence's Mashapaug Pond for years, but relief may finally be on the way. Photo: James Crowley
In the Reservoir Triangle neighborhood of South Providence, Mashapaug Pond, the city’s largest freshwater lake, has stood undisturbed for years. Residents don’t walk their dogs here. Nobody swims or goes fishing. And though there’s a high school within a few yards, you won’t find school kids hanging out here, either.
That’s because the pond, which at times turns an artificial neon green, has been a no-go zone for years. Stormwater pollution from roughly 70 industrial and commercial properties in the neighborhood flows here. Every time it rains or snowpack melts, oil, grease, chemicals, and other sediment wash from nearby paved surfaces – around industrial facilities and a shopping center – into the pond. Because of this toxic runoff, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management has long posted signs proclaiming the pond off-limits. In the last 15 years, officials have issued more than 20 public health advisories for the pond and the surrounding watershed. Sometimes, these advisories have lasted for months.
It’s a travesty, says CLF Senior Attorney James Crowley. “The community ought to be able to use this precious resource.”
That should change now that the Department of Environmental Management will finally begin requiring formerly unregulated property owners to reduce their stormwater runoff. CLF and the Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General separately petitioned the Department to issue these new regulations covering stormwater runoff in the Mashapaug Watershed. The watershed includes Mashapaug, Spectacle, and Tongue Ponds in Cranston and Providence. Previously, none of those ponds were fully protected from this toxic pollution.
“It’s our ultimate goal to return Mashapaug Pond to the community,” says Crowley. Although the pond has severe pollution problems and won’t be swimmable or fishable immediately, we hope that one day South Providence families will be able to enjoy the simple pleasure of going for a swim.”
People shouldn’t have to worry, he adds, about toxic blue-green algae, the electric green pond scum triggered by unchecked stormwater pollution. The algae outbreaks can sicken people, cause liver and nervous system damage, and kill pets.
A Long History of Dirty Water
In New England, Mashapaug Pond and waterbodies like it have long been vulnerable to stormwater runoff. That’s because before 1993, only limited categories of stormwater discharge were regulated. Discharges from industry, municipal storm sewer systems, and construction site runoff were monitored, but not runoff from shopping centers, office parks, or other types of privately owned businesses.
For years, many property owners fell between the regulatory cracks, subject to no formal stormwater controls. Recognizing the system was broken, CLF filed a petition in 2018 urging the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management to use its authority to help clean up Mashapaug Pond in Providence, Bailey’s Brook in Middletown, and North Easton Pond on Aquidneck Island. Specifically, we asked the agency to use what is known as its “residual designation authority” under the federal Clean Water Act to address pollution flowing into these water bodies. This authority would allow the agency to finally regulate stormwater discharges from private owners who were not otherwise automatically regulated under older regulations. CLF had already successfully used this Clean Water Act provision to clean up Long Creek in southern Maine and to address sources of stormwater pollution in Burlington, Vermont.
But progress in Rhode Island was slow. While movement plodded along there, CLF advocates turned their attention to the issue in Massachusetts. They successfully petitioned the EPA to use residual designation authority to reduce stormwater runoff in the Charles, Neponset, and Mystic rivers.
“That example helped Rhode Island to see how this tool could effectively address stormwater pollution problems,” says Darrèll Brown, CLF’s vice president for Rhode Island. “We cannot allow private businesses, industrial or non-industrial, to remain unaccountable for the toxic pollution they create.”
Finally, a Victory for Mashapaug
This year, there was a big step forward for Reservoir Triangle residents. The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management responded to CLF’s petition and agreed to fill in the gaps in managing the stormwater pollution fouling Mashapaug Pond. The Attorney General’s petition for new permits helped push things along. The new Mashapaug General Permit will target properties with one or more acres of impervious surfaces. These property owners will be required to implement pollution-prevention and stormwater management measures to prevent the flow of toxic chemicals into the pond. Among other measures, businesses and residents can keep the pond cleaner by raking leaves, sweeping parking lots, and installing drainage systems to capture bacteria-laden stormwater runoff.
“Too many communities, including the neighborhoods around Mashapaug, have been deprioritized,” says Crowley. “But the truth is that no one should have to live with a toxic pond in their backyard.”
Staying on the Case to Protect Mashapaug
Stormwater runoff is one of the biggest threats to clean water. Densely populated states with lots of paved surfaces, like Rhode Island, are most vulnerable to its dangerous impacts. And those dangers will only grow as climate change causes heavier rains and more intense storms to flood ponds and streams with more runoff. Even now, high bacteria counts in Rhode Island lakes and beaches have made them unsafe for swimming, boating, and fishing. But the good news is that much of this is preventable. Thanks to the changes taking shape, Reservoir Triangle residents and all Rhode Islanders may enjoy cleaner water in the future.
