Water Quality
Every year, the WRWC monitors water quality in the Woonasquatucket River through the URI Watershed Watch Program. We are one of many groups who connect citizen scientists to rivers and waterways this way. From May through October, WRWC Volunteers monitor four sites bi-weekly on the Woonasquatucket River and submit their data to URI. Once a month, select samples are taken to URI for further analysis.
For more information:
Dough Stephens
dastephens43@cox.net
See past data collected on the Woonasquatucket River (and other areas), and learn more about what we monitor and why it’s important. Key factors we monitor for include:
- Dissolved Oxygen
- Water Temperature
- Weather
- Salinity
- Bacteria
- Nutrients
We began monitoring water quality in 2003 at Rising Sun Mills Dam near Donigian Park in Providence, the most downstream dam on the river before the water turns tidal.
In 2005, we added a site at Greystone Mill Pond Dam near Cricket Field at the border of Johnston & North Providence near the Smithfield line. A note about data at this location – we started collecting samples above the dam and switched to collecting below the dam in 2008, so be cautious about comparing data here before and after 2008.
In 2008, we also began monitoring at Water Place Park in Providence. This is our most complicated location due to having brackish water (a mix of salt & fresh water) and a highly urbanized location. Water quality in this area is vital for the fish returning every year to their historic spawning grounds in the river.
In 2017, we added one more site at Whipple Field in Smithfield, north of Greystone Mill Pond in Johnston. This section, closest to the watershed headwaters, allows us to compare water quality downstream to this more pristine section of the river.