Resources – Water Quality and Conservation

Presentations About Water Quality and Conservation

QEBWA Water Supply, Threats and Alternatives – 2022

  • Informative presentation by Northeast Water Solution, Inc. providing an overview of the Quonochontaug East Beach Water Association (QEBWA) water supply, contaminant threats, treatment options and alternative water source considerations.

Summary of Onsite Waste Treatment Systems (OWTS) on the Quonochontaug Neck – April 2023

  • Matt Dowling, Onsite Wastewater Manager/Environmental Scientist, Town of Charlestown provides details on the number of older substandard septic systems vs. systems utilizing newer nitrogen-reducing technology on the Quonnie Neck. “Each new modernized OWTS that replaces an older conventional system can typically reduce nitrogen concentrations discharged to the ground by 3x than what originates from a conventional system.”

Articles About Water Quality and Conservation

URI researchers find ‘shocking’ amounts of microplastics in Narragansett Bay sediments. The Providence Journal. September 2023.

  • “Researchers at the University of Rhode Island estimate that the top two inches of the Bay floor contain more than 1,000 tons of microplastics, totaling some 16 trillion fragments that have accumulated in the sediments in just the last decade or two.”

Laundry is a top source of microplastic pollution – here’s how to clean your clothes more sustainably. The Conversation. January 2024.

  • Learn about simple ways to change your laundry habits in order to reduce microplastic fibers in laundry washwater.

Rising waters plague septic tanks, threatening pollution and health risks. The Washington Post. May 2024.

  • Rising sea levels in the U.S. South are causing septic systems to fail, resulting in public health concerns and costly repairs for homeowners.
Quonochontaug Neck and Surrounding Bodies of Water

Children’s Book on Water Conservation

National Geographic Kids WATER!: Why every drop counts and how you can start making waves to protect it By Lisa M. Gerry

This 128-page paperback book targeting readers in grades 3-7 provides the ins and outs of important water issues and how making small but powerful changes in our daily lives can help protect the water that connects us all.

Available on Amazon