At 7pm, tonight's 6pm semi-monthly CRMC full council meeting was cancelled due to lack of quorum. After waiting for an hour, the full house of applicants will now have to wait until next month to have their applications heard.
The shenanigans continue

As of 7/1, in-the-water demo began on underwater portions of the piers of the the Washington Bridge. We have observed containation booms floating above underwater turbidity curtains to mitigate suspended sediment during work.
We'll continue to maintain a presence on the water and in the air.

Use discretion & check available resources when engaging in aquatic activities after rain events. Please keep in mind, these results are days old, and don't represent current conditions. Lots of things can quickly change the bacterial concentration in the water, particularly large rain events.

Catching up posting bacterial data for SW Aquidneck Island & the PVD River & Upper Bay. Sorry for the delay.
W/rain Tues night, elevated results Wed morning on Aquidneck Island aren't surprising. Also, and surprisingly, Rocky Pt. continues to be high. Maybe something for us to look into deeper.

Another week of bacterial monitoring. This week was both our weekly Urban Beach monitoring in the Providence River and upper Bay on June 10, in addition to our biweekly Aquidneck Island Monitoring on June 11.

Results from our volunteer monitoring for bacteria at five non-licensed swimming locations in the Providence River and upper Bay.

Our summer '25 bacterial monitoring season is off! We are sampling six sites on Aquidneck Island and five sites in the Providence River and upper Bay, all are non-licensed swimming locations that are not required to be tested by RIDOH. But we want to provide users with close to real-time data.

Last week I participated in the #InternationalPlasticPelletCount lead by the Waterkeeper Alliance. It's an attempt to collect data on the prevalence & quantity of pre-production plastic pellets called "nurdles" littering our coast. Visit nurdlepatrol.org to view a map of data collected at all sites.

We continue to be in communication with Rhode Island DEM and the CRMC to ensure that Rhode Island DOT moves forward with proper environmental controls in place for the project that minimize negative impacts to the surrounding habitats

With the Baykeeper boat back in the water, @savethebayri.bsky.social is able to be more responsive to on-the-water concerns as they arise. These days, that work involves keeping an eye on the Washington Bridge demolition project as it moves forward.

Super excited to have the Narragansett Baykeeper vessel "Seaverge" back in the water and home at the @savethebayri.bsky.social Bay Center in Providence. Ready for the 2025 season patrolling, water quality monitoring, meeting users, and maintaining a presence as the eyes and ears of Narragansett Bay

I was on scene yesterday at the Washington Bridge demolition where dredging was being performed on debris in the bottom of the Seekonk River. An excavator hose blew leaking hydraulic fluid into the Seekonk. Our observations showed no action being taken and fluid leaking through the containment boom

Sat in today at the panel discussion held by @magaziner.house.gov hosted by @savethebayri.bsky.social to discuss devastating cuts to @noaa.gov Unfortunate when you have to describe the importance of this vital federal agency to many that utilize its data and may not know it.
Thank you congressman!

@nbriverkeeper.bsky.social and I visited the Palmer River in Swansea, MA. Their desalination plant's discharge permit is up for regular review & public comment. We took salinity readings and general visual inspection of the location.
Saw lots of wildlife using the river!
@savethebayri.bsky.social

This week marks the start of the removal of the Ginalski crane barge, which has been a sunken derelict vessel impairing the waters of the Providence River since 2017. This work is made possible through a $1.5m NOAA grant and the scrap will be turned into art by The Steel Yard industrial art center

Excited to introduce myself! I'm Chris Dodge, the new Narragansett Baykeeper for Save The Bay. I'm eager to meet partners, familiarize myself with the issues, and get down to work with @savethebayri.bsky.social as a @wkalliance.bsky.social member helping to protect and improve Narragansett Bay.