Celebrating one year of gas free driving during Drive Electric Week

By Rachel Calabro, Community Organizer and Advocate at Save The Bay

Last summer, I interviewed Save The Bay’s Facilities Manager about his decision to lease a Chevy Volt. The Volt is an electric drive vehicle with a gasoline engine for extended range. The all electric range is about 40 miles, after which a gasoline engine takes over. This is slightly different from a hybrid engine which switches back and forth from gasoline power to electric power during driving. After doing some research of my own, I decided last September to lease an all-electric Nissan Leaf, and go gasoline free. I like the simplicity of having one engine and virtually no maintenance other than tires and brakes.

Driving an all-electric car does take some planning ahead, and is best for city driving. The range varies widely depending on outside temperature and driving conditions. On good days, the range can top 90 miles with moderate driving speeds, but winter weather and use of the heat lowers the range under 80 miles. The car starts to warn you when running with under 20% of the battery remaining, so I generally take 20 miles off my effective range when planning my driving. With a battery instead of a gas tank, I feel like there is a direct feedback and connection to my own energy consumption and driving habits.

Rhode Island Supports Electric Vehicles

In 2013, Rhode Island partnered with National Grid to install 50 public charging stations through the ChargePoint Network. These stations are free to network members for the first four years while owners pay for the electricity. After four years, owners of the stations can decide to keep them free or begin using a fee based system. The stations are distributed throughout the state and are located at the state beaches, malls and restaurants such as Cilantro Grill and Chili’s, and at other locations such as Rhode Island College and Bryant University.

But what About the Electricity?

If you are interested in a direct comparison of energy consumption and costs for an electric car and a gasoline car, here are some of the things I have learned. One gallon of gasoline has the equivalent amount of energy as 34 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity. Our second car, the Honda Fit, gets about 34 miles/gallon or about 1 mile per kWh. My Leaf diagnostics tell me that I average about 4.6 miles per kWh, or the equivalent of about 156 miles per gallon. The 2015 Nissan Leaf advertises an average miles per gallon equivalent of 114 miles, so either I am very efficient or my car is not very accurate.

The 2015 Nissan Leaf battery holds 24 kWh of energy. This means that a full charge at 16 cents per kWh costs about $3.84. I have been using about 200 kWh at home every month, for a cost of about $32. It also means that at an average of 4.6 miles per kWh, I should have a range of 110 miles, which is kind of pushing it. I have heard that the diagnostics are not very accurate, and that is something being worked on. 

To me, all those numbers mean that my electric car is almost five times more efficient than my gasoline car, regardless of the fuel type. Because of regenerative braking technology, the brake pads last up to three years longer. Fewer fluids and oils means less contribution to stormwater pollution. No exhaust means I am not contributing to low level ozone pollution, the major cause of air quality alert days in the heat of the summer. In addition, electric vehicles emit only 19.8% of the total heat emitted by conventional vehicles per mile, reducing the heat island effect in cities.

What About other Sources of Pollution?

Electric vehicles do create more pollution during the manufacturing process, and they do require electricity to be generated somewhere, using some type of energy source. The best scenario would be to plug in to a solar panel array or to purchase green energy through your electric company. Not all parts of the country are set up to distribute electricity from clean sources of fuel. The east and west coasts, however, happen to be areas where the electricity mix is steadily becoming more and more renewable.

According to the Sierra Club, in Massachusetts EVs have about 70% lower greenhouse gas emissions than conventional cars. If you are interested in seeing the energy mix going into New England’s electricity generation in real-time, check out this site from ISO New England (our energy grid operator).

The Future of Electric Vehicles

In October 2013, eight states which include Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Maryland, Washington and California, signed a pledge to get 3.3 million EVs on the road by 2025. I am fairly confident that we will soon reach a tipping point and this goal will be easily surpassed. When the 2018 models start rolling out, we will see range go up over the 200 mile mark and electric cars will be mainstream. Electric options are available from most major car companies already.

The problem with being an early adopter, however, is that depreciation is relatively high, given that the technology is getting so much better with each new car model. This does provide some opportunities, however, if you are looking to get into the electric car game and save a bunch of money. I am very happy with my choice and am looking forward to seeing what happens. I am already fighting for space at the public charging stations that I use, so I know there is a growing crowd out there with me. 

This blog entry was taken from the Watershed Writings blog. To read the all Watershed Writings entries visit the blog. 

Bay-Friendly Living: Litter on land finds its way to bay, ocean

By July Lewis, Volunteer and Intern Manager

Aquidneck Island is home to some of the most beautiful beaches in New England. Large beaches such as Easton’s Beach in Newport draw tourists from around the world, and local gems like Sandy Point Beach in Portsmouth allow families to relax close to home. The island also hosts wildlife sanctuaries such as Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge in Middletown and prime fishing sites like King Beach in Newport.

There’s a beach for everyone, and the last thing anyone wants to see when they visit their little slice of paradise is trash.

But thousands of pounds of trash wind up on the beaches every year, all from individuals making the seemingly inconsequential choice to drop an item on the ground rather than dispose of it properly. Much of this trash comes from people littering directly on the beach. But what most people don’t know is that it also comes from people littering miles away from shore. How does that happen? Storm drains.

Rain washes litter from the streets into storm drains, which empty into rivers and waterways leading to the ocean. If you’ve ever cleaned out the storm drain in front of your residence, you know how large items like bottles can get caught in the grate. Think of how many smaller items pass through — wrappers, straws, bottle caps and countless cigarette butts. Cigarette filters are not, contrary to popular belief, biodegradable, but made of a type of plastic that falls apart into tiny bits and becomes part of the environment.

All this trash going into the sea not only winds up on our beaches, it often winds up in the stomachs of such animals as sea turtles, birds and whales, which either mistake bits of trash for food or accidentally ingest them while feeding. A whale swallowing a mouthful of krill has no way of spitting out any cigarette butts or bottle caps that come along for the ride. These indigestible items can get lodged in an animal’s digestive tract, filling up their bellies or blocking their systems entirely and leading to death.

Fortunately, Aquidneck Island residents are taking action and standing up for clean beaches.

Students and volunteers are raising awareness of the connection between storm drains and waterways. They glue tags to the curbs above storm drains saying “DON’T DUMP — DRAINS TO BAY” and pass out pamphlets to educate their neighbors.

Shoreline cleanups are another popular way residents are taking action. Save The Bay holds regular cleanups on the island, but we are not alone. Clean Ocean Access has a robust, year-round cleanup program. Naval groups, the Portsmouth Conservation Commission and businesses such as Rhody Surf all hold their own cleanups. Newport’s Clean City Program has a citywide Earth Day cleanup.

Many groups, from schools to Scout troops to neighborhood associations, participate in the annual International Coastal Cleanup each September. During this event, volunteers pick up trash and debris and record it for an annual, global report on marine debris. Last September, on Aquidneck Island alone, 373 volunteers picked up 2,981 pounds of trash from 14 miles of shoreline. The No. 1 item: 5,724 cigarette butts. Other top items were 2,075 bottle caps and 1,840 food wrappers. Less prevalent, but more dangerous, were 319 yards of fishing line, a major entanglement hazard for wildlife. All are the result of careless disrespect for the environment and the community.

The volunteers who came out that day and to cleanups year-round set an example for how we can take care of our beaches. For information on this year’s International Coastal Cleanup, on Sept. 19, visit www.savebay.org/icc.

Perhaps the most important way we each can make a difference in reducing beach pollution on Aquidneck Island is to simply let other people know that it’s not OK to litter. People care what their friends and family think of them, so you can gently let people know there are alternatives.

If you see friends littering, say something — even if it’s “just” a cigarette butt. Set an example by taking a trash bag with you to the beach and leaving it just a little cleaner than you found it. Remind friends that if they use storm drains as a trash can, they turn the bay into a trash can. Join a cleanup and invite your friends to participate — it’s amazing how enthusiastic people get about clean beaches once they have a chance to make a difference.

To find a beach cleanup near you, visit www.savebay.org/volunteer or www.clean oceanaccess.org.

July Lewis is the volunteer and internship manager at Save The Bay, a nonprofit environmental organization that is providing a series of occasional columns for The Daily News about stormwater issues on Aquidneck Island.

Beach Captain's Blog #1 - Michael Sollitto and Briana Ferreira

by Briana Ferreira, Class of 2016, Warwick Veterans Memorial High School and Michael Sollitto, Teacher, Warwick Veterans Memorial High School

As an incoming senior at Warwick Veterans Memorial High School, it was time for me to start thinking about a topic for my senior project. Knowing the career path I want to take after high school – to become a marine veterinarian ­– a beach cleanup was the perfect choice.

Marine biology has always been an interest of mine. I've been surrounded by water my whole life. When you’re born and raised in the Ocean State, the beach was a common place to be. But it wasn't until a leadership event that I noticed how much trash is left on the beach. Being a part of the Leadership Academy at Warwick Vets, we do an annual beach clean up at the end of May. Seeing how many bags of trash we collected in the little time we were there was shocking. You don't realize how much trash there really is until you are the one picking it up. So I made the decision to become a beach captain and run my own beach clean up for my senior project.

Polluted oceans put marine life at risk. Did you know that more than 600 species of marine animals are impacted by ocean trash? Many become entangled or mistake pieces of trash as food, which leads to digestion problems and many times also death. We're polluting our oceans and putting our animals at risk. These horrors inspired me to get involved, and what better way to do that than to participate in the International Coastal cleanup? My senior project mentor Michael Sollitto and I will be leading a cleanup at Conimicut Point in Warwick on September 19 for the Rhode Island International Coastal Cleanup.

-Briana Ferreira, Student, Class of 2016, Warwick Veterans Memorial High School  

I have coordinated many beach clean-ups over the years with Save the Bay.  These beach clean-ups were community service projects for Leadership Academy at Warwick Veterans High School. Teaching the importance of community services and environmental responsibility are important lessons for my students. Working with Save the Bay has ALWAYS been a wonderful experience. The staff, and especially the volunteer coordinator, July Lewis, go above and beyond by providing resources and supplies to run these clean-ups.

Like Briana, I grew up in Warwick, and its beaches and coast have been a large part of my life. It truly upsets me when I see trash littered on these beaches. When Briana asked me to be her mentor for her senior project, I didn’t think twice. It has been a pleasure working with Briana as co-beach captains for the International Beach clean-up. It is refreshing to see a teenager with drive and passion. For this project, I am her assistant, she is running the show!  I am positive that her hard efforts will pay off and we will have a very successful event.     

-Michael Sollitto, Teacher, Warwick Veterans Memorial High Sch

Bay-Friendly Living: Waterfowl feeding can foul our waters

By David Prescott, South County Coastkeeper

I have fond memories of my grandmother setting aside the stale bread for my sister and me to feed the birds and ducks whenever we came to visit. What I didn’t realize at my young age was the harm I was causing, both to the birds and to the local environment. In fact, in 2003, the state Department of Environmental Management passed a regulation making it illegal to feed waterfowl – and for good reason.

Waterfowl, such as Canada geese, swans and ducks, are wild animals. When humans feed them, we change their normal feeding behaviors, and they become increasingly dependent on humans for daily nutrition. What starts out as an enjoyable, and even nostalgic, experience quickly turns into a nuisance situation on a number of fronts.

One of the biggest, and perhaps most surprising, environmental effects of feeding birds is water pollution. A single adult goose can produce up to a pound of waste — yes, we’re talking poop here — every day. This waste contains high levels of fecal coliform bacteria, which is harmful to humans.

As the waste builds up along the shoreline or in a local park, bacteria levels escalate. Rainwater washes the goose poop, and the build-up of bacteria, off the land and carries it to the nearest river, lake, stream, pond or beach, potentially sickening humans swimming or playing in this polluted water. High bacteria levels from goose poop also cause beach and shellfish closures in coastal waters.

Additionally, swans and geese also deposit their waste directly into the water, where they spend much of their time. Bird feces contain high amounts of nutrients that act as fertilizers in the water. This additional nutrient source in the water causes an explosion of algal growth that can deplete the water of oxygen other marine life needs to live and can cause smelly algae blooms that ruin the beach experience for humans.

Feeding waterfowl also affects our local habitats. These birds often congregate in areas where humans are likely to feed them, such as along shorelines and wetlands. When we’re not there to feed them, they are searching for vegetation for nutrition. While this is normal feeding behavior, the abnormally high number of waterfowl leads to overgrazing of shoreline vegetation, which can cause the edge of the bank to erode and become more susceptible to wave action and loss of its buffering properties.

Coastal salt marsh communities in particular are very vulnerable to the grazing effects of geese. Unlike other types of waterfowl, geese will feed not only on the above-ground portions of Spartina alterniflora (smooth cordgrass) but the roots and rhizomes as well, often resulting in the complete removal of large swaths of marsh grass, particularly along the marsh edge. This makes the marsh even more vulnerable to climate change and rising sea levels.

Waterfront homeowners can create and maintain a buffer of native vegetation that will not only help protect the shoreline edge, but will also keep waterfowl off of your property. Too often, homeowners mow their coastal buffer and then later complain about the swans and geese constantly pooping on their lawn.

A natural buffer is important for a number of reasons. Buffers infiltrate rainwater and help to filter and remove pollutants, such as fertilizers and animal poop, coming off the property. They provide valuable habitat for native wildlife. They protect the shoreline from coastal erosion. And finally, they discourage unwanted species, such as non-migratory Canada geese, from feeding on your lawn.

So next time you find yourself out dining along the water, having a picnic lunch at a park or enjoying a day at our spectacular beaches, think twice about sharing your leftovers with our winged friends. Our local waters and beaches will thank you.

Read it on Newport Daily News

How my eyes were opened last fall on International Coastal Cleanup Day

by Cindy Sabato

Last September, I did something I've never done before. I joined the Save The Bay's beach cleanup efforts for the International Coastal Cleanup. And it was pretty awesome. So awesome, in fact, that I now work for Save The Bay. But today I'm writing to reflect my experiences that Saturday morning a year ago, as an eager volunteer wanting to enjoy some sunshine and do some good at the same time.

Embarrassing fact: I've lived in the Ocean State for eight years, and have been to the beach only about a dozen times, and that's if we're counting walks along the wall at Narragansett Town Beach. So on that sunny September morning last year, heading down to Charlestown Breachway for the cleanup, I was both excited about actually going to the beach (even if I was wearing boots and a sweatshirt) and totally unprepared for the amount of trash and debris dotting the landscape.

The thing is, it's always there, the trash and debris, but we rarely notice it. Our eyes have been conditioned to overlook the tens of thousands of cigarette butts and plastic bottle caps that get compressed right into the ground and sand as we walk over them (they were everywhere, but I was so surprised at how hard I had to look to actually "see" them). Our nature is to gaze just beyond the unsightly plastic bottles and aluminum cans that have been blown into the nooks and crannies of rocks, fences, dunes, and other shoreline features. So ugly and disheartening is all this abuse by human hands, that we choose not to see it, even when we're in the midst of it, in favor of the sun glistening off the surface of the water, cormorants diving for a bite, children splashing in the shallows and beach grasses blowing in the breeze.

We don't see it, that is, until we're there to clean up it. And I was blown away, less by the strong winds that morning, than by the sheer amount of trash – bottles, cans, butts, caps, pen lids, plastic shards, juice box straws, plastic bags, towels, and fishing gear – that I found and dug out from on, under and amongst the big boulders that line the Charlestown Breachway inlet. 

Don't get me wrong. It was a fun day. Crazy fun. I was invigorated by the sunshine and fresh air. Inspired by the volume of people, families, sports teams and community groups that came to help. And proud that I was there doing something useful, something good for our community. But my experiences on that first cleanup also really opened my eyes to just how much our communities need to do to keep our beaches and shorelines free of all that trash.

We're the Ocean State, after all. Our livelihood depends on our ocean and its shoreline - for the economy, recreation, food, life's little pleasures. The 16,000+ pounds of trash collected in Rhode Island on International Coastal Cleanup day last year made a dent. Maybe a big one. Still, I can't help but think we wouldn't even need a day like that if we didn't put the trash there in the first place.

Save The Bay is now recruiting more than 2,000 volunteers to help with the 2015 International Coastal Cleanup on September 19, 2015. For information, and to register as a volunteer, visit:  savebay.org/icc

Bay-Friendly Living: What causes those beach closures? We do

By Tom Kutcher, The Narragansett Baykeeper

I’m a surfer and I love the beach. So I hate it when the state Department of Health closes a beach to swimming. We’re about halfway through the beach season and we’ve lost a number of Aquidneck Island beach days to beach closures.

Atlantic Beach in Middletown has been closed three times, while Easton’s (First) Beach has been closed twice. Third Beach has been closed twice and Peabody’s Beach was closed seven days by two events. These beaches all were closed because of contamination by the kind of bacteria that can make you sick to your stomach, cause diarrhea and make you vomit. If the Department of Health doesn’t close the beaches, swimmers are at an unacceptable risk of contracting these dreadful symptoms. So, the agency closes the beaches to swimming, as they should.

Meanwhile, Melville Pond is off limits to all activities that might result in any water contact. There’s no swimming, fishing or even canoeing on the pond. It’s not safe for people or even pets. The culprit here is cyanobacteria, a toxic form of blue-green algae that’s also capable of causing stomach illness, not to mention skin rash, stinging eyes and even permanent liver damage if ingested. The cyanobacteria is caused by excessive nutrient pollution, usually stemming from fertilizers and waste.

On Wednesday, the Department of Health and the Department of Environmental Management announced it cyanobacteria also had been detected in Paradise Pond in Middletown.

So, why are these water resources polluted and how can this be fixed?

What we need to come to terms with is that these very different water resource ailments have one thing in common: the source of contamination. That source is us.

Through our daily activities, we inadvertently pollute our own precious water resources with the many pollutants we leave on the landscape that wash into the water. These include lawn and agricultural fertilizers, antifreeze and oil from our cars, pet waste and our own waste.

Much of the damage is done by water washing off streets and parking lots. Because the rainwater in the streets can’t be absorbed into the ground where the soil filters and treats most of the pollution, it simply washes the pollution off of these hard surfaces and into our waterways.

Another big contributor to water pollution is failing and inadequate septic systems, and cesspools that contaminate the groundwater that feeds into our rivers, ponds, reservoirs and beaches.

We never meant to do this. When we were building out our neighborhoods and business districts over decades and centuries, we didn’t know that cesspools and other inadequate means of expelling our waste would pollute our resources beyond utility. We didn’t realize that our cleared farmland would over-fertilize the adjacent surface waters. And, we didn’t expect that rain would carry velocity high enough to scour the pollution off of our lawns, driveways, streets and parking lots, and deposit it into our waterways.

But that’s exactly what happens. It’s happening on Aquidneck Island, in my home town of Wickford, across Rhode Island and around the world.

The good news is: This can all be fixed. In contrast to when the area was originally developed, we now understand the process of water pollution and how to treat it. The challenge is that it will take money, effort and a lot of political will to make it happen. Water needs to be diverted into vegetated soils rather than into rivers. Streets and parking lots need to be redesigned. And we need to be more careful about what we put onto the landscape. We need to pick up after our pets, use less lawn fertilizer and keep our cars leak-free. Some of our local youth have taken up the charge, for example, by designing and building rain gardens at Rogers High School in Newport to filter rainwater coming off the school roof and parking lots.

As adults, we can do that and more. We can create the political will to invest in the fixes that will make our beaches safe. We need to stress to our political leaders that clean water is important our health, recreation and quality of life.

Everyone knows that the beaches of Aquidneck Island are major economic drivers that bring hundreds of thousands of visitors per year to our communities in the summer months. Aquidneck Islanders and visitors alike use our ocean and Bay year round — for surfing, fishing, snorkeling, sailing and swimming.

We need to accept that fixing our water ailments won’t be free, or even cheap, but it’s an investment worth making. Clean water is an investment in our own selves and in our children, and is a year-round proposition. Please join our young stewards in taking the steps necessary to get this done.

Newport Daily News

Barbara Klitz family and friends swim as Community of Strength to honor cancer survivorship

By Spencer Gossy, Save The Bay Communications Intern

In one way or another, cancer affects everyone, whether through a family member, friend or oneself. Many times there is not much one can do to ease the pain of a loved one’s cancer battle, but friends and family can come together to encourage those struggling to beat his or her diagnosis. This idea of unfaltering companionship is the reason the Community of Strength formed in 2011 – to make sure Barbara Klitz met her goal to complete her 15th Save The Bay Swim since 1979 after being diagnosed with thymic carcinoma and Myasthenia gravis in late 2010.

The Klitz family considers itself one that celebrates life by helping one another locally and globally. Beyond generating donations for Save The Bay, the Community of Strength also raises funds for Myasthenia gravis and the American Cancer Society. Last year, at least 10 people, including Klitz’s children, swam together for her and Save The Bay as representatives of the entire Community of Strength – its largest team of swimmers since its formation in 2011. The Community of Strength goes far beyond the reach of Narragansett Bay with 60+ supporters who all pledge donations to the various foundations that the Klitz family endorses. The Community of Strength will convene once again this Saturday to brave the water, honoring and following in Klitz’s footsteps.

The Klitz family celebrates with Jonathan Stone after completing
the 39th Annual Save The Bay Swim

Klitz, who turns 61 this month, participated with her husband, Thomas Klitz, in their first Save The Bay Swim in 1979 after their graduation from the University of Rhode Island. According to her, she finished the race “before my husband of course.” The mother of Katie, Keeley, and Kevin and University of Rhode Island chemistry professor says that she often refers to Narragansett Bay as her “happy place.” That’s why she has been so dedicated to participating in the Save The Bay Swim – she simply wants to “work to raise awareness to keep Narragansett Bay viable for generations to come.”

Klitz says she swears by one motto in life – “all things can be solved by salt water.” She has spent countless hours on the bay swimming and walking alongside its waters enjoying the scenery. Although her health prevents her from swimming the 39th annual Swim on July 11, she will be kayaking alongside her son, Kevin, as he braves the 1.7-nautical-mile trek. In the water with Kevin will be his sister, Keeley, and a few Community of Strength team members including family friends and colleagues. Her husband, Thomas, will be kayaking for another team that was in need of one more team member.

Each year, 500 swimmers and some 200 kayakers between the ages of 15 and 83+ participate in the 1.7-nautical-mile journey from Naval Station Newport on Coaster’s Harbor Island across open water to Jamestown’s Potter Cove. One of the most storied open-water swims in the United States, the Save The Bay Swim celebrates tremendous progress in cleaning up Narragansett Bay since its first official Swim in 1977 and the organization’s founding in 1970. In the early years of the Swim, swimmers often emerged from the water with oil and tar balls on their skin and swimsuits.

Save The Bay highlights top five fundraisers for 39th annual Save The Bay Swim.

By Spencer Gossy, Save The Bay Communications Intern

Begun in 1977, the Swim is Save The Bay’s largest annual fundraiser, serving as one of its most critical efforts to ensure the protection of Narragansett Bay. Each year, nearly 500 swimmers embark on the 1.7-nautical-mile swim from the Newport Naval Academy to Potter Cove in Jamestown to raise money and awareness. Thanks to everyone who sponsors swimmers in each year’s Swim, the event generates about $350,000 each year, supporting Save The Bay’s education, restoration, and advocacy work on behalf of Narragansett Bay. This year’s top fundraisers include four Save The Bay Swim veterans and one first-time participant.

Mark Formica (far right), stands with his daughter,

Emily Favreau and his son-in-law, Pete Favreau

Mark Formica, 67, of Bristol, tops the fundraising leaderboard to date with $5,150 in contributions. He attributes his love for the natural beauty of the Narragansett Bay as the inspiration behind his decision to support Save The Bay. Formica, a 19-year participant in the Swim, will be joined on July 11th for the second year by his granddaughter, Emily Favreau, and his son-in-law, Pete Favreau. The former advisor to the Save The Bay board of directors cites biking and open-water swimming as the keys to his training regimen leading up to the Swim. The Trinity College graduate and chairman of Citizens Bank of Rhode Island, says he enjoys “the preparation, the swim, the people and the sense of accomplishment when you get to the finish line.”

Patrice Kilroy, 63, of Jamestown, has raised $3,980 from 51 generous supporters in her 12th year participating in the Save The Bay Swim. Although she grew up in Newport Beach, California, she has spent countless hours swimming and sailing on the Narragansett Bay since she moved to Rhode Island in 1983. As an enthusiast of many water-related recreational activities, Kilroy recognizes the positive impact that Save The Bay has on her local watershed. “Seems like I’ve always known about Save The Bay,” says Kilroy, “When you’re out on the water, you notice if it’s clean or not. If my swimming allows me to raise money for Save The Bay, then it’s a ‘win-win’.” Kilroy swims on a Master’s swim team at St. George’s School in Newport for the entire month of June, on top of her daily cycling and yoga regimen to train for the Swim.

Daniel Force, 54, of Portsmouth, participated in his first Save The Bay Swim in 1989 while on active duty in the Navy and stationed at the Naval War College in Newport. To date, Force has raised $3,025 for what will be his 15th Save The Bay Swim. Force enjoys the beauty of the Bay in its natural state and “hates seeing litter, debris and other pollutants caused by man’s carelessness,” he said. By raising money for the Save The Bay Swim each year, he feels he is contributing directly to the Bay’s health. Force is frequently on the Bay boating or walking along its shorelines beach combing. He swims two to three times a week and runs and bicycles daily to build his endurance. He sees himself participating in the Swim until he is at least 90-years old when, “someone may need to build a ramp down to the beach so I can make it to the water with my walker in the year 2051,” he said.

Stephen Resnick, 72, has raised $2,753 for this year’s Save The Bay Swim. He has considered himself a lap-swimmer since 1977, when he ruptured his Achilles tendon and used open-water swimming as a tool in his physical therapy. Although he lives in New York City year-round, Resnick visits Newport and Middletown quite often to visit friends and family and became aware of the Save The Bay Swim six years ago. He says his favorite part of the Swim is when he can separate himself from the other swimmers, because “the views and experiences of being in open-water are breathtaking when you get a chance to take it all in.” Recounting his first visit to Narragansett Bay nearly 30 years ago, before Save The Bay had a considerable impact on the quality of the Bay’s water, Resnick said he was afraid to swim because he could hardly see through murky water that was spoiled by pollution. He has been supporting Save The Bay ever since in an attempt to ensure the Bay never reverts to its condition when he first visited Rhode Island.

Ellen Maxwell, 60, is making the 39th Annual Save The Bay Swim her first. To date, she has raised $2,727 from 29 generous supporters after she sent out a letter to her friends and family asking for their support. Maxwell decided to participate in the Swim for her 60th birthday because, to her, it is “important to set yourself little challenges as you get older to keep your life exciting.” She is a regular supporter of Save The Bay, which she considers a much-needed voice of advocacy for Narragansett Bay where she learned to swim, fish and sail. The Washington D.C. native spends much of her time in Jamestown where she first learned to swim while boating with her grandfather on the Bay. One of her most vivid childhood memories involves visiting the Round House with her grandfather and watching aircraft carriers travel up-and-down the Bay before and after the bridge was built.

The 39th annual Save The Bay Swim will be held on July 11, 2015. Five hundred swimmers and some 200 kayakers between the ages of 15 and 83+ annually participate in the 1.7-nautical-mile journey from Naval Station Newport on Coaster’s Harbor Island across open water to Jamestown’s Potter Cove. One of the most storied open-water swims in the United States, the Save The Bay Swim celebrates tremendous progress in cleaning up Narragansett Bay since its first official Swim in 1977 and the organization’s founding in 1970. In the early years of the Swim, swimmers often emerged from the water with oil and tar balls on their skin and swimsuits.

Rhode Island Deserves a Level Playing Field in Environmental Enforcement

How a delay in enforcement costs Rhode Islanders

by Kendra Beaver, staff attorney, and Topher Hamblett, director of advocacy

A healthy Narragansett Bay and fair business climate require timely and consistent enforcement of regulations that protect, restore and improve our coastal resources. Rhode Island’s failure to provide its Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM) with robust enforcement capacity is economically short-sighted and irresponsible. Enforcing environmental laws is critical if Rhode Island truly wants to encourage investment and create a level playing field in which clear and predictable regulations are consistently applied to all individuals and businesses.

The case of RI Recycled Metals (RIRM), which was allowed to operate its Allens Avenue scrapyard in blatant violation of the Clean Water Act and other environmental laws for more than four years, is a wake-up call on the consequences of lax or delayed enforcement. Consider this: 

• Pollution from crushed automobiles, appliances and other sources was allowed to be dumped directly into the Providence River, a place cherished for recreational fishing and community boating programs. Despite inspections and many confirmed violations, RIRM continued to operate in violation of the law. The company ignored many warnings and letters ordering immediate action, as well as a Consent Agreement to take immediate steps to achieve compliance with the law. The Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) failed to enforce the “Maintenance Certification” it issued.
• RIRM gained a competitive advantage over other scrap processers who played by the rules by investing in stormwater pollution controls and abiding by their permits. Years of failure by the state to hold RIRM accountable contributes to the image of Rhode Island as a place where it “pays to pollute.” 
• Taxpayers may wind up footing the bill for cleaning up this mess. The approximate cost to clean up and recap the site is $200,000 to $300,000, and to remove submerged and floating vessels at the site, another $2 million to $6 million. It is unclear whether or not RIRM has the assets to pay these costs. If not, the cost will likely fall to taxpayers. It would have been more cost-efficient to pay for staff at RIDEM to enforce the law in the first place. 

Rhode Island should never be known as a state where it pays to pollute. RIDEM’s enforcement capacity, which has been drastically cut over the past decade, must be restored. When RIDEM is sufficiently resourced, consistent enforcement of environmental laws creates a business-friendly culture, improves our environment and removes the competitive advantage of violation. 

The good news is that action has finally been taken to stop RIRM’s ongoing pollution of the Providence River. Attorney General Peter Kilmartin stepped in to assist a short-staffed RIDEM and commenced legal action against the company in the fall of 2014. At last, the case is proceeding as it should have many years ago. 

A Superior Court injunction prohibits scrap from being processed on site, vessels dismantled without permission and additional vessels and junk vehicles brought to the site. The order also requires the installation and maintenance of hay bales and silt fence along the shoreline, prohibits further disturbance to the shoreline and requires that all waste be disposed of by early May 2015. The Superior Court has prohibited RIRM from removing any assets from both locations on Allens Avenue to ensure there are some funds available for cleanup. RIRM has stated that it will prepare a plan to properly close the site and faces another court hearing in May. 

The bad news is that the Providence River and its shoreline have been contaminated. The site is a mess, with at least four corroding vessels in or under water, a damaged shoreline, and a disturbed “cap” that had been established to contain contaminated soils. 

Climbing the ladder on the Ten Mile River

by Rachel Calabro, Community Organizer and Advocate for Save The Bay

Partners in the Ten Mile River Omega Pond fish ladder project
cut the ribbon at the official opening of the ladder.

After overcoming many technical challenges during design and construction, the Omega Pond fish ladder at the mouth of the Ten Mile River was finally completed, just in time for this year's spring fish run. Herring were waiting at the dam when the ladder was opened, and fish were seen making their way to Hunt's Mill where an annual fish count is done by volunteers.

Save The Bay's connection to this project began in 1996, when Paul Bettencourt, a local fisherman who began stocking the Ten Mile with river herring in the early 1960s  took Save The Bay's Director of Habitat Restoration Wenley Ferguson on a tour of the Seekonk River.

Wenley Ferguson, Save The Bay Director
of Habitat Restoration

While showing Wenley places where he used to fish for herring as a boy - places that have since been destroyed due to filling - Paul stopped at the Omega Pond dam and shared his vision of restoring a self-sustaining fish run to the lower Ten Mile River. Paul knew that the lower river could support herring, thanks to his efforts along with many other local fisherman who would scoop the herring up and over the Omega Pond dam each spring. His vision was to create fish ladders at three dams including the Omega Pond dam, so that herring could swim freely up to the Turner Reservoir where they could spawn. 

Save The Bay shared Paul’s vision with the City of East Providence, which owned two of the three dams at the time. The City quickly embraced the vision and became a partner. Dick Quinn, an engineer with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, completed a conceptual design for three fish ladders, which became the blueprint for the project.  To fund the ladders, the partnership began relatively small. The Department of Environmental Management, Save The Bay and the city of Providence secured matching funds for the Army Corps of Engineers to conduct a feasibility study back in 2001. Due to the complexity of the project and the expense, the partnership then expanded to include many federal agencies including National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Adminstration, Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, along with state and local partners including the Coastal Resources Management Council, the R.I. Saltwater Anglers Association and the Ten Mile River Watershed Council. 

While the planning, design and funding was being finalized, the annual spring fish-scooping event that Paul began in the 1960s became celebrations as more and more fish returned and several thousand fish were helped over Omega Pond dam. Construction on the first ladder began at the Hunts Mill dam in 2012, then the Turner Reservoir ladder and finally the Omega Pond fish ladder in 2014.

The Omega Pond fish ladder during construction.

Now that three fish ladders are in place, herring have three river miles and about 340 acres of habitat in which to spawn. They can now make their way to the Massachusetts state line, where they find the next dam at the Pawtucket Country Club. This dam is part of the Ten Mile River Reservation and owned by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management. The Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries has been supporting this project and provided fish from the Nemasket River herring run in Middleboro to stock the upper Ten Mile River and help maintain the run. 

Save The Bay will continue to work on this project and advocate for continued river restoration. Water quality improvements are still desperately needed as the upper Turner Reservoir and Central Ponds often experience blooms of toxic blue-green algae. The flow in the Ten Mile River, like many of the Bay's small tributaries, is dominated by wastewater effluent. The Attleboro treatment plant is under strict new permit limits, but nutrient pollution in stormwater runoff and from birds and wildlife is still contaminating the river. Opening up the fish passage is only part of the story. True habitat restoration will take work on many fronts, including water quality and stream habitat. We can now begin a dialogue with Massachusetts about additional restoration opportunities over the border, and the work is just beginning!