Find It and Fix It: Citizen Science Combats SNEP
Easton's Beach Problems
Clean Ocean Alliance (COA), a Rhode Island-based nonprofit, formed in 2006 after a parking ban to
restrict beach accessibility stirred two local surfers to contact both Newport Police and the City Council
to improve the situation as pipe ruptures and combined sewer overflows led to beach closures well
into the summer. Marty Grimes and Dave McLaughlin organized 27 other surfers to discuss the
importance of water quality in their community. United by their shared interest in maintaining year-
round beach accessibility for the public, the group resolved to increase the frequency of local water
quality monitoring to better understand when unsafe conditions exist.
Water quality at Easton's Beach has
been an ongoing problem, influenced
both by the aging infrastructure
of the adjacent public drinking
water reservoir and the increasingly
developed surrounding
watershed. The beach, known
locally as "First Beach", is located
directly across the street from
Easton Pond, which is one of
nine drinking water reservoirs for
Aquidneck Island maintained by
the City of Newport.
The pond is surrounded by a berm
that essentially causes
a large moat along the side, and
this moat is a source of
pathogens on the beach. Identifying and
reducing potential pathogen sources to the beach
has been a complex problem and despite $12 million of combined investments by the City of Newport
and Town of Middleton, closures have continued. Several fixes have been tried and more continue to
be sought to solve the problem. For example, in 2014 the City and Town tried using ultraviolet (UV)
disinfection to treat pathogens in water from the moat when storms led to at least 0.25 inches of
rainfall. Unfortunately, water in the channel was routinely re-contaminated (see aerial photo of
channel below), and COA water quality sampling revealed that Easton's Beach was still experiencing
elevated pathogen levels. This finding means that more must be done to treat pathogen sources
entering into the beach during dry weather too.
Motivated by these results, COA fostered a partnership between the City of Newport, Town of
Middletown, and Rhode Island's Department of Health to identify pathogen sources during both dry-
and wet-weather events, facilitate the development of pathogen remediation plans, and suggest
improvements in stormwater conveyance systems to reduce beach closures.
Easton's Beach is a critical resource for year-round residents.
Source: Clean Ocean Access Final Report.
Southeast New England Program
www.epa.gov/snecwrp

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Find It and Fix It: Citizen Science Combats SNEP
Citizen Problems (continued)
COA's Find It and Fix It program, funded in part by SNEP, trained a robust group of volunteer monitors
to help out, including engineers, educators, health professionals, scientists, college interns, and retired
professionals. Their additional participation increased COA's weekly water and sediment sampling
effort from 12 to as many as 36 samples per week, culminating in the collection of 244 samples from
June to December 2016!
Sampling took place in Newport Moat, Easton's Stream, and Easton's Beach, bringing visibility to the
importance of reducing stormwater runoff, combined sewer overflows, and pollutant discharge into
coastal waters. The study identified roughly ten potential pathogen sources, including Newport Moat,
Wave Avenue pumping station, Bailey Brook, Esplanade Outfall, Cliff Walk Outfalls, nearby parking lots,
and general sources of domestic and wild animal waste. Inspired by their findings, CO A proposed
several remediation efforts spanning education, public participation, and both short- and long-term
pathogen reduction plans. Suggestions included examining the effect of land uses around Easton's
Pond, increasing year-round water quality monitoring capacity, implementing rain barrels and rain
gardens throughout the developed watershed to reduce stormwater, and constructing wetlands for
enduring, natural water processing.
The project really gained traction when residents who know the area became involved. Increased
awareness of the issue has now led to discussions about ways that residential green infrastructure and
citizen-led solutions like pet waste removal, smart fertilizing, reduced lawn size and changes in
pesticide use might help. The organization hopes that their efforts will inspire more citizens to get
involved in local water quality efforts and encourage more use of citizen science efforts like this by
municipal and state research and scientists in the future..
Please direct any questions to CO A co-founder Dave Mclaughlin at
(dave.mclauehlin(5)clea noceanaccess.org).
Southeast New England Program
www.epa.gov/snecwrp

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